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Elephant Talk Communications Announces the Appointment of Robert H. Turner as Executive Chairman; Names ETNA President Tim Payne as Interim CEONEW YORK CITY, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (NYSE MKT: ETAK) ("Elephant Talk" or the "Company"), a global provider of Software Defined Network Architecture (ET Software DNA® 2.0) platforms and cyber security solutions, today announced that the Company has appointed Robert H. Turner ("Hal Turner") as Executive Chairman and Tim Payne, the current President of Elephant Talk North America ("ETNA"), as interim CEO. Together, both appointees will be responsible for managing and growing Elephant Talk's global operations. Mr. Steven van der Velden has stepped down as Chairman, CEO and a director of the Company. Mr. Turner brings over 40 years of international C-level global telecom and communications technology experience to Elephant Talk gained through a career leading and servicing major Tier 1, 2, and 3, incumbent and competitive (MVNO/CLEC/ISP/Cable) wireless and wired operators. Mr. Turner's expertise includes decades of P&L leadership, M&A, joint ventures, strategic alliances and global partnerships gained through a career including Senior Sales and Marketing roles at AT&T, President and Chief Operating Officer of BellSouth Communications, Inc. (now AT&T) and serving as Chairman, CEO and President of several international voice and data services/networking companies including PTT Telecom Netherlands US, Inc. (now KPN), TeleZone, Inc. (Toronto, Canada) and Davnet Limited (Sydney, Australia). "On behalf of the Board and the entire management team at Elephant Talk, we are excited to welcome Hal Turner to the Company. We believe he has the ideal mix of business strategy, global management and technology expertise that is needed to advance our industry-leading solutions and add to our growing global customer base that includes Tier 1 customers in the US, Brazil, Europe and the Middle East," said Mr. Carl Stevens, Member of the Board. "Supported by a dedicated and focused team along with technology that is delivering the highest performance and most reliable services in the industry, Hal will play a vital role in further scaling-up the organization while managing its growth and cost structure ensuring we deliver value for our shareholders." "This is an exciting time to be joining a company like Elephant Talk which has created and delivered remarkable technology solutions to MNOs and MVNOs. Elephant Talk's products are at the leading edge of performance and reliability, leveraging technologies such as SDN, NFV and the cloud to overcome the critical cost and competitive issues now facing mobile operators around the globe," said Robert H. Turner, newly appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. "Thanks to the work done by the Board and the senior team at Elephant Talk, the Company is now well positioned to deliver on the promise of its proprietary technology and it is my goal to ensure that the business capitalizes on this opportunity to supply its bst-in-class products and customer support, and do so efficiently and profitably." "We would also like to thank Steven van der Velden for his many years of hard work and dedication to Elephant Talk. We look forward to Steven remaining a very large shareholder of the Company and wish him much success in all his future endeavors," continued Mr. Carl Stevens, on behalf of the Board of Directors. Recently, Mr. Turner served as Chairman of Pandora Networks, Inc. (now named Panterra Networks), CEO at Pac West Telecomm, Inc. and for the past 28 years, founder at Turner Telecom Holdings Group, LLC, an executive management and board services consultancy and advisory firm focused on serving leading-edge telecom, software and technology companies from start-ups to turnaround, worldwide. Mr. Turner is a featured contributor to key publications in the wireless, networking and technology industries and is also a guest lecturer at The Darla Moore School of Business at The University of South Carolina. Mr. Payne has been President of Elephant Talk North America since April 2014. Tim has over 20 years of domestic US telecom experience driving sales and distribution programs at top telecommunication companies including serving as Senior National Sales Leader at Verizon Telematics, National Sales Manager at Networkfleet, General Manager at Clearwire and District Manager at Sprint Nextel. About Elephant Talk Communications Corp.: About ValidSoft UK Ltd.: Forward-Looking Statements: Contacts: Investor Contact: Public Relations: Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/MM75872LOGO Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120917/MM75492LOGO
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