June 29.Notebaert made a real name for himself taking over Qwest in 2002. At the time the company was mired in an accounting scandal and an investigation by the SEC. He joined Qwest as chairman and CEO in June 2002 soon after Joseph Nacchio resigned. Nacchio was recently convicted of insider trading and is scheduled to be sentenced this summer. The SEC later charged the company and key one-time Qwest executives, including Nacchio, with orchestrating a financial fraud at the company between April 1999 and March 2002.
At the time of Notebaert's appointment many people thought his task to turn the company around was nearly impossible. Notebaert managed to get costs under control. During his tenure at the helm, he launched some bold efforts. He succeeded in acquiring a strong position in the federal government's large Networxcontract. On the other hand, he was unsuccessful in his very public attempt to acquire MCI. In a bidding war for MCI, Qwest lost out to Verizon Communications.
The recent triple management losses at Qwest will put severe pressures on the firm. Qwest remains a small-fry in the telecommunications space when compared to its rivals. The board has a truly difficult task ahead to find the right person to run the company and more importantly, one that would be willing to do it. Qwest remains, however, a potential takeover target and could even be right for a potential acquisition by a private equity firm.
Keep a close eye on the company's board for the next few months.
For more see:
TheStreet.com (second article)
Financial Times
TheStreet.com
Bloggingstocks
Forbes
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