Mpower Communications Appoints President-Operations and President-Sales & Marketing
Strong Functional Leaders to Tightly Integrate National Efforts
ROCHESTER, NY - August 28, 2000 - Mpower Communications Corp. (Nasdaq:MPWR), a leading provider of broadband data, Internet and telephony services to business customers, today announced it has appointed Joseph M. Wetzel as President-Operations and Paul D. Celuch as President-Sales and Marketing.
A pioneer and veteran of the telecommunications industry, Wetzel will oversee Mpower's national operations including network services, technology and product development, information technology and local provisioning. Celuch, who joined Mpower in June as President of the Northeast Region, will take on an expanded role with responsibility for national sales, marketing and customer service.
"These are two solid leaders who will be true partners in running the business," said Mpower Communications President and Chief Executive Officer Rolla P. Huff. "In Joe, we have found a seasoned executive with the operational vision to take us to new heights in service delivery. Paul has already proven he can create sales momentum and instill a passion for customer service. Together they will be driving forces in Mpower's continued progress and expansion."
Wetzel joins Mpower from MediaOne Group, one of the nation's leading broadband telecommunications providers, where he was Vice President of Technology and responsible for corporate engineering and operations. At MediaOne he established standard network and capital deployment processes for the company's network design and architecture, technical new product development and network operations support systems.
Wetzel's mandate at Mpower is to ensure that the company's provisioning capabilities and back office systems deliver exceptional network and service quality. "With its clear focus on promoting consistency and excellence in every aspect of service delivery, I'm excited about the potential that Mpower has in the marketplace," commented Wetzel.
A 23-year telecommunications professional, Wetzel spent seven years leading technology deployment for MediaOne. Earlier in his career, he held a number of senior operations and technical positions within U S WEST and its research and development arm, Advanced Technologies, with emphasis on advanced network architectures, new product development, and network efficiency optimization.
Celuch joined Mpower in June of this year as President of the company's Northeast operations to oversee its expansion into critical markets including Boston, New York and Washington D.C. In his new role as President-Sales and Marketing, he will drive the company's regional sales efforts, in addition to directing its national marketing programs and customer service capabilities.
"By focusing on offering a true bundled solution to small and mid-size businesses and 'delighting' our customers at every turn, Mpower has a great opportunity to capitalize on the ever-growing demand for broadband communications," noted Celuch.
Before joining Mpower, Celuch was Vice President of Sales-North for Intermedia Communications, Inc. In this position, he was responsible for integrated data and voice sales in the Bell Atlantic, Ameritech and U S West territories. His 17 years of experience includes tenure at Frontier Corporation as Executive Vice President of Sales for the general long distance business segment. He has also held various sales management and operations positions with MCI Telecommunications, IBM Corporation and Accel Systems, Inc.
About Mpower Communications Corp.
Mpower Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: MPWR) is a facilities-based broadband communications provider offering a full range of data, telephony, Internet access and Web hosting services for small
and medium-size business customers. The company is quickly expanding its industry-leading Voice over Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (VoSDSL) footprint and plans to serve the top 50 metro markets in the country by mid 2001. Headquartered in Rochester, NY, the company employs more than 2,200 people nationwide. Mpower ranked 12th in the Bloomberg Tech 100 listing of the fastest growing technology companies in the United States based on sales growth for the 1999 fiscal year. Further information about the company can be found at
www.mpowercom.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release that state Mpower Communications and/or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. Management wishes to caution the reader these forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are only estimates or predictions. Actual results may differ materially as a result
of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, projections of future sales, returns on invested assets, regulatory approval processes, market conditions and other risks detailed from time to time in Mpower's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
