NHC Communications Appoints Kenneth Hovaldt as North American Executive VP of Sales
and Marketing to Run Newly Formed NHC Communications USA Inc. Subsidiary
MONTREAL, June 16 /CNW/ - NHC Communications Inc. (TSE: NHC), a leading
provider of carrier class test access and deployment solutions for the Digital
Subscriber Line (DSL) service market, announced today the appointment of
Kenneth W. Hovaldt to Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing North
America. Among Mr. Hovaldt's new responsibilities is the Company's newly
opened subsidiary, NHC Communications USA Inc.
"Ken Hovaldt's principal mandate will be to grow NHC's sales
infrastructure in the United States," said Sylvain Abitbol, President and CEO
of NHC Communications. "Ken has a strong background in sales development and
marketing, and has been responsible for establishing vital strategic
relationships with U.S. based Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs) and
Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) - NHC's primary target market."
Mr. Hovaldt's most recent position was as Senior Vice President of Sales
and Customer Service at ECI Telecom Inc. During his 22 year career, Mr.
Hovaldt has held several key senior positions with a number of other high-
profile North American companies such as TELCO Systems/OpenRoute Networks,
Inc., Fujitsu Network Switching of America, Inc., DSC Communications, Siemens
and Northern Telecom. In all his previous assignments, Mr. Hovaldt was
instrumental in creating new business and increasing overall sales, developing
key strategic alliances with OEMs and distributors and establishing
international sales organizations.
"I am very excited to have the challenge of joining a company that
provides a product with capabilities which will have a significant influence
on the convergence of voice and data taking place in the communications
industry today," said Mr. Hovaldt. "The VCCS product offered by NHC, allows
greater control and refinement for all network service providers. In addition,
it immediately provides for superior network operational efficiencies. This
will enhance critical cost controls and provide for significant operational
savings, allowing these accounts an accelerated return on their investment.
These benefits can be realized by all of the providers of network
applications, whether they reside in the ILEC, CLEC, or MTU marketplace
environment."
NHC made additional announcements regarding the enhancement of its senior
sales and marketing team. Peter Benisti, formally Vice President of North
American Sales has been appointed as Vice President, Worldwide Sales. In this
capacity, Mr. Benisti will utilize his expertise to work jointly with Mr.
Hovaldt in further developing NHC's North American CLEC customer base. Mr.
Benisti will also take charge of NHC's international market penetration
focused primarily in Europe. "By June 2001 most European nations will have
unbundled their local loops to competitive service providers, the market in
Europe is about to explode for broadband and DSL services and NHC is well
positioned to capitalize on the numerous opportunities at hand" said Mr.
Benisti. "Our existing office in Paris is already providing us with an edge in
this marketplace, we will aggressively expand our presence in Europe in tandem
with the exciting developments from our new US subsidiary. I am also very
pleased to see that our US sales team will be lead by a seasoned
telecommunications professional like Ken Hovaldt".
Joining Mr. Hovaldt in the U.S. operations is Timothy A. O'Neill who was
recently appointed Senior Sales Director/Southeast region as well as NHC's
existing U.S.-based sales team. Mr. O'Neill, brings more than 35 years of
experience in the technology sector, with such companies as Ganymede Software
Inc., Netcom Systems Inc., Network General Corporation, Harris Corporation,
Navtel, Geosource, Spectron and Leasametric.
Additionally, NHC has signed up a new independent sales agent, Terry
MacMillan. Mr. MacMillan is based in Ottawa and operates T-Land Inc. Under the
agent agreement, T-Land will be responsible for NHC's Canadian VCCS sales
development.
NHC's sales and marketing additions are expected to contribute
significantly to the Company's growth momentum. "Another key mandate that Ken
will undertake will be to establish a marketing organization based in the US,
an area we plan to make significant enhancements to in order to assure the
success of NHC", said Ralph Benatar Chief Operating Officer for NHC. NHC's
sales rose from $1.5 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2000, to a
current order backlog of $6.5 million. This backlog is expected to translate
into record quarterly sales during the fourth quarter of 2000.
Other important recent accomplishments include:
- A strategic partnership with Tollgrade Communications, Inc., part of
the Nortel Networks TotalCare DSL operating system, to offer a complete
end-to-end cross-connect and DSL loop qualification platform; and
- A joint marketing agreement with Linmor Technologies Inc. to develop
and supply an integrated solution to perform vital deployment functions
at the physical layer using Linmor's NEBULA(TM) and NHC's VCCS(TM);
- In June 2000, NHC submitted its VCCS solution to the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States as a carrier-
neutral resolution to a major problem in the US telecommunications
industry - namely shared line testing between CLECs and ILECs.
About NHC Communications
NHC's growth strategy consists of several elements:
- Marketing to Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), Incumbent
Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs) and Multiple Tenant Units (MTUs) with a
complete line of products based on the same software platform
- Partnerships with major test equipment, DSLAM and OSS vendors to
benefit from cross sales referrals
- Partnerships with key international vendors seeking to provide totally
integrated solutions for managing DSL networks through recently
released "Tool Kit Software"
- The Virtual-Cross Connect Solution's (VCCS) modular design allows for
smaller initial configurations and for our customers to expand as their
own market penetration evolves
NHC Communications Inc. is an international leader in the design and
manufacture of innovative physical layer high-speed switched access solutions
for established and next-generation voice/data networks. With a unique range
of technologies developed from years of experience, NHC is now at the heart of
today's corporate enterprise service market and the telecommunications
industry.
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For further information: Sylvain Abitbol, President & CEO,
s.abitbol@nhc.com, (514) 734-4302; Sylvain Brossard, CA, Vice President,
Finance & Operations, s.brossard@nhc.com, (514) 734-4304; Martti Kangas or
Andrea Berry, The Barnes Organization, (416) 367-5000,
mkangas@barnesir.com/aberry@barnesir.com; Visit the Company's Web site
at www.nhc.com;
To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
www.newswire.ca and click on reports@cnw. |
