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FairPoint asks CEO to step down [The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H.](Telegraph (Nashua, NH) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 17--FairPoint has asked its chief executive of one year to step down in favor of an executive with more telecommunications experience. The company announced Monday it has asked a bankruptcy court judge to approve the appointment of Paul H. Sunu. If the change is approved at an Aug. 24 hearing, current CEO David Hauser will resign but remain a consultant to the company until it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sunu, 54, has held chief financial officer positions at various telecom companies since at least 1996, most recently at Hargray Communications Group, a rural telephone, cable and Internet provider based in Hilton Head, S.C. He managed finances at Hawaiian Telcom, a company that also filed for bankruptcy shortly after buying millions of access lines from Verizon, from May 2007-February 2008. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008. Like FairPoint, Hawaiian Telcom struggled after purchasing millions of access lines in Verizon's ongoing effort to shed its landline business in rural and remote areas. FairPoint spokeswoman Rose Cummings said the request to replace Hauser came from the steering committee of secured lenders, which has some influence over the bankruptcy process. "He has a telecom background and that's the skill set they wanted in the new CEO," she said. "It's not that unusual for the new owners of the company to put their own CEO in place." Hauser had been selected for his background in finance, according to Cummings. He joined the company in July 2009 from Duke Energy Corp., where he held the chief financial officer position. Hauser, who had been a member of FairPoint's board of directors since 2005, replaced retiring CEO Eugene B. Johnson. FairPoint paid $2.3 billion for Verizon's landline and Internet operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in 2008. It filed for bankruptcy protection 18 months later. The company was inundated with problems during the switch from Verizon's billing and computer systems in early 2009. There were billing errors, missed installation and repair appointments, problems with transferring e-mail accounts, and long waits to speak with customer service representatives. The company spent millions of dollars fixing the problems. Then, the Wall Street crisis made it difficult for FairPoint to refinance its debt. Bankruptcy is expected to reduce FairPoint's debt by about two-thirds to $1 billion. Public utilities officials in New Hampshire and Maine have approved the bankruptcy plan. Vermont officials rejected it, but the company plans to ask for reconsideration, Cummings said. Federal Communications Commission approval is pending. Prior to working for Hawaiian Telcom, Sunu was chief financial officer of Madison River Communications, a company he helped found. He also spent more than two decades at tax, investment and management consulting firms. Sunu has a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from the University of Illinois. If a New York City bankruptcy judge approves his appointment, Sunu will also serve on the company's board of directors. The Associated Press contributed to this report. To see more of The Telegraph or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nashuatelegraph.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Telegraph, Nashua, N.H. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |