Level 3 Names Post-tw telecom Executive Team: Hint, No Larissa Herda

In fact, only two top tw telecom leaders will join the C-suite.

Kelly Teal, Contributing Editor

July 22, 2014

2 Min Read
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**Editor’s Note: Please click here for a recap of the biggest channel-impacting mergers in Q2 2014, and click here for our extensive coverage of the proposed Level 3-tw telecom merger.**

Level 3 Communications Inc. on Tuesday laid out the roster of executives it expects will lead the company once the pending acquisition of tw telecom closes in the fourth quarter.

tw telecom CEO Larissa Herda is not part of the lineup. She said when the $7.3 billion deal was announced in June that she would not be joining the new Level 3. Indeed, she’s up for a $42 million payday as a result.

Here’s who will be leading the expanded Level 3, and in which capacities:

  • Jeff Storey, president and CEO. Storey took over as Level 3 CEO in April 2013.

  • John Blount, regional president, APAC. Blount currently serves as tw telecom’s president and COO.

  • Andrew Crouch, regional president, EMEA and global accounts management (GAM) division. Crouch now works as president, North America and APAC for Level 3.

  • Harold Teets, CIO. Teets is tw telecom’s senior vice president of information and network technologies.

The rest of the executive team will be comprised of current Level 3 employees. To that point, Hector Alonso will remain regional president of Latin America, and Anthony Christie also will keep his job as chief marketing officer. Jack Walters stays on as CTO; Sunit Patel as executive vice president and CFO; Laurinda Pang as executive vice president and chief administrative officer; and John Ryan, executive vice president, chief legal officer and secretary.

“I look forward to welcoming John and Harold from tw telecom – their combined experience and insights will be invaluable in capitalizing on our strengths and improving the customer experience,” Storey said in a prepared statement.

The remaining tw telecom execs who did not land jobs at Level 3 won’t be left hurting. According to the Denver Post, CFO Mark Peters stands to receive $16.2 million; Jill Stuart, chief accounting officer, $5.7 million; and Tina Davis, general counsel, $3.5 million.

Level 3 is buying tw telecom for its metro footprint and buildings connected to the network, and says that will result in higher quality, more reliable on-net experiences for customers in North America. tw telecom customers will, on the other hand, get access to Level 3’s footprint that features networks and data centers in more than 60 countries.

Once the tw telecom acquisition closes, Level 3 plans to expand its locations in North America to include tw telecom’s current facilities in Littleton, Colo., and its operations center in O’Fallon, Mo. Right now, Level 3 works out of Atlanta, Broomfield, Colo., Phoenix and Tulsa, Okla.

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About the Author

Kelly Teal

Contributing Editor, Channel Futures

Kelly Teal has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist, editor and analyst, with longtime expertise in the indirect channel. She worked on the Channel Partners magazine staff for 11 years. Kelly now is principal of Kreativ Energy LLC.

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