TMCnet News
ICM Telecommunications Appoints Bob Thorpe Executive Vice President of Corporate Development as Part of the Company's Strategic Growth Program SACRAMENTO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- June 3, 2004 -- ICM Telecommunications, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ICMH), a rapidly growing provider of prepaid stored value credit cards for use at Point of Sale (POS) and ATM machines nationwide, announced today that it has appointed Robert "Bob" Thorpe, a veteran sales and marketing executive, as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development."Bob's appointment to this new position is a very important part of our strategic growth plan. His industry-specific background makes him the perfect person to have focused on new business opportunities, as well as the implementation of our very aggressive sales and marketing efforts," said ICM Telecommunications President & CEO Doug Hamby. "Bob brings to this newly created position a wealth of experience, gained over more than 30 years of sales and marketing positions of increasing responsibility, including a senior management position with a Fortune 500 company." Hamby said nearly a third of Thorpe's career has been spent specifically in the prepaid and stored value markets, especially debit card programs. The majority of that time has been related to assignments on the hardware side of telecom and datacom programs, Hamby noted. Thorpe founded his own company, TeleCard Plus, based in Elk Grove, California, a suburb of Sacramento, in mid-1996. Its focus over the past eight years has been on dedicated and switched wholesale long distance cards, debit card design and production, and telecom switches providing platform services for debit cards. "Beyond all Bob's practical experiences," said Hamby, "he also is extremely familiar with the burgeoning Wi-Fi marketplace, which traces its origins to February 2003, when Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) introduced its Centrino chip, and the marketplace immediately began to evolve rapidly. The multiple applications either already in operation, or in the technological pipeline, for Wi-Fi is enormous, and Bob has his fingers on the pulse of that very fast growing process as it can positively affect our company's future development." Thorpe himself believes that "just like the origins of the cellular telephone, Wi-Fi applications are growing exponentially." Currently, he observed, Wi-Fi is being rapidly assimilated into the manufacture of laptop computers and PDAs, and he expects this wide area fidelity concept to continue its penetration of the retail and industrial communication marketplaces. "Retail establishments will make this technology a staple of their in-store experience, and both residential and commercial establishments, such as hotels, will be quick to follow the wireless revolution. In a few years the Wi-Fi experience will be as commonplace as cell phones are today," he observed, "even taking into account instant transmission of photos, text messages and real time stock quotes. "There was never a better time than now for ICM to have its focus on both its prepaid stored value cards and the accelerated method of transactions that Wi-Fi technology will introduce to our marketplace in the coming months. I am extremely pleased to play a key role in ICM Telecommunications' expansive plan to grow shareholder value aggressively and rapidly." The company believes that, following ramp up in the current quarter, incremental revenues from this program alone will approximate $200,000 in its 2004 third quarter. ICM Telecommunications Inc. is the exclusive distributor of debit instruments for 1st Financial Solutions Inc., which is in partnership with Sutton Bank. That bank's status as a premier card issuing financial institution permits its customers all the benefits of other ATM debit cards. ATM locations, and virtually all retail establishments, give card users several hundred thousand places where their cards will be immediately acceptable and honored. Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. We caution the reader that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. |
