Well, it didn’t take too long for Integra to make up its mind about who will lead the company after Tom Casey left for Tronox two months ago. Kevin O’Hara, who has been serving as executive chairman since then has now been formally named Chief Executive Officer.
O’Hara, of course, was Level 3’s COO and President up until 2008, when the company was tripped up by the simultaneous integration of a half dozen metro fiber assets and two longhaul backbones. His strong preference for owning and operating fiber rather than leasing from the incumbent has been increasingly visible since he joined Integra’s board a while back. It’s nice to see him back in the saddle once again.
Integra’s $50M buildout aimed at taking better advantage of the company’s fiber assets had his fingerprints from the beginning. Those assets derive mostly from the Electric Lightwave purchase, spanning the mountainous west with enough metro density to total over 1,700 on-net buildings now. Most of the company’s $600M+ revenues still derive from the traditional CLEC model of course.
That combination of fiber assets and revenue scale mean that the company has been a frequent target of M&A speculation over the past year or two, and that probably won’t change as there are a half dozen potential buyers for whom there is a nice strategic fit. However, with O’Hara at the helm I wonder if Integra might become more acquisitive itself.
If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!
Categories: CLEC · Information · Metro fiber
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Kevin O hara is a solid leader and who took a bullet for Level 3. EVidenced by the fact that since he left Level 3 nothing has changed . They continue to lose 150-200 milion a quarter, they continue to tell a good story about the future ( and I believe the story is good with level 3).He took a bullet because the company signed up for an impossible task of a 6 company integration while overhauling the entire workflow systme of the company, that failed as any reasonable mind would predict, and then needed to save face and gain confidence back from marketplace so Kevin was scapegoated for a corporate bad decision.
I would say while OPEX heavy is model of metro and long haul operating entities within Level 3 was the best approach to attacking the mid size business market Level 3 covets. They still dont have that figured out and have tried a GM model which I know has gone through a few issues and failed upon initial rollout, see Jeff Tench and his exit , and is not the JEff STorey we just needed a new COO success story we all want it to be.
I think Integra is a force for rasing captital, a force for developing and groing under Kevin and expect to see a very successful run for integra over the next couple of years
Anonymous,
While L3 still has issues, you must understand cultural mindset with ALL OF THEM.
Check the track record of KOH after leaving L3 and you might start to understand something of CULTURE and mind set.
The real fact of the matter is that Crowe and KOH were builders and dreamers and not operators. This is not to criticize or demean either men. It’s just evident…Look back at MFS and you will see it. Crowe is a visionary think tank type of leader and KOH was a A-Z builder.
With all due respect L3 would be a different animal today if 2 things had happened.
First, They built the original LH network in the US and forgot about Asia and EU and took the remaining capital and did the MFS /TWTC model from the start and then pid those things off and then built into Asia and EU. Think of a companyback in 98 that had the killer LH network of original L3 all tied together with dense metro on-net bldgs. Had this occurred LVLT would ahve been taken out at a $150-$200 per share premium years ago!
Second, Mr. Scott should have replaced Crowe and KOH after the network build was complete , let them stay on the board or in some non-operational cpacity and then brought on a Operations CEO/COO and stopped all the good ole boy stuff. Again this not being criotical of KOH or Crowe, but we all ahve our strengths and it’s evident now more than ever L3 failed/s at execution and once is agian is buying its way out of trouble.
Myself and lots will disagree with you about KOH, and IMHO he was not a strong leader, he was a strong follower and yes man.
They say failure and time heals a man and sharpens his wits and makes him hungry…KOH has proven he is hungry, but time will now tell if his wits are sharpened and if time healed him into a true and solid operator…
I am not holding my breath….
For someone who talks about money being unimportant, you sure value its importance a lot, in the form of when you sell or buy, or your yearning for “premium prices” enveloped inside the Level 3 Network with references to the past.
For someone who talks about love versus hate, your underlying message as long as I have been reading you is structured exclusively upon hate. Your reasons are your own, as reasons for others to hate you, are for them to decide!
Hate is an emotion tied and evolved within the human spirit, in order to protect ones self from people like you, even move aggressively against you when you have gone too far in the form of tyranny.
Kind of like this mixed message being spewed by you in nether-lands. If I ever saw your face, I would find it fit to spit at it!
Merry Christmas to you, MOFO. And, may death and destruction abound in the lands where you and yours dwell! Where is that, by the way?
http://investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=444&mn=109457&pt=msg&mid=11251993
Carl,
Nothing changes with you, how sad. Merry Christmas
To the extent that I like to take a soldering iron to men who speak with fork tongues, you are correct.
The “change” remains in the “ALCHEMY” and in the case of Level 3, “The Amalgamation.”
Inside of that remains plenty of global broadband!
Good night Carl!