<Among the latest to switch careers are CDMA guru Craig Farrill, Vodafone’s chief
technology officer for global technology
strategy, and TDMA advocate Greg Williams, executive vice president for wireless
systems at SBC Communications.>
Hitting The Road Again
Execs Trade Life At Top For Life In Faster Lane
By Peggy Albright
Movers and shakers tend to be restless. And as the wireless industry matures, the personalities who built it are moving on.
Growth, mergers and acquisitions and new career opportunities are driving a changing of the guard in the executive suites of
numerous firms. Though the trend began several years ago, those who’ve topped out in wireless companies continue to shift to
new, related industries to tackle challenges in emerging technologies.
For the wireless industry, this means new faces at the top. And in a time of partnerships and alliances, the departing stars of
wireless remain in nearby constellations, using their expertise and contacts to propel promising enterprises in Internet and
data-related fields.
Among the latest to switch careers are CDMA guru Craig Farrill, Vodafone’s chief technology officer for global technology
strategy, and TDMA advocate Greg Williams, executive vice president for wireless systems at SBC Communications.
They are but the latest in a migration of high-profile talent to new enterprises. One might say that Steve Hooper began the trend
in 1997, when the then-AT&T Wireless Services exec took on a new assignment with longtime colleague Craig McCaw. Dan
Hesse, formerly CEO with AWS, made his transition to the upstart TeraBeam in March, while Andy Sukawaty, who’d made
his mark with Sprint PCS, announced in June he would pursue a broadband Internet opportunity with Callahan Associates
International LLC. Last week, Teligent Inc. president and COO Kirby “Buddy” Pickle resigned to become CEO of PF.Net
Communications Inc., a fiber-optic equipment company.
The impact of these departures is still difficult to discern, particularly when it comes to Farrill and Williams, who were strong
proponents for their respective technologies, CDMA and TDMA. Neither could be reached for comment by press time.
“We’re on the threshold of lots of moves and changes,” says Bob Egan of the Gartner Group.
Farrill left Vodafone in July. Vodafone announced his departure to employees this summer, along with a restructuring of the
operator’s overall global technology organization. His current position is not yet known, though Egan expects Farrill will not
wander too far from the industry.
“Having worked with Craig for more than 13 years, I’ve always considered him one of the leading business and technical minds
in the industry,” says Perry LaForge, CEO of broadband wireless company Galleon, and CEO of Web-based customer care
company InServ. (LaForge also serves as executive director of the CDMA Development Group.) “I am confident he will
continue to play a defining role in wireless, and I look forward to working with him even more closely in the coming months.”
Williams still works for SBC but is also executive vice president and COO at the digital subscriber line internet service provider
Prodigy Communications Corp. He joined that company just after SBC and Prodigy combined their consumer and small
business Internet operations into a business unit aimed to propel the ISP into the forefront of the DSL broadband arena. That
business strategy includes wireless, along with other emerging services, such as home networking and Web devices, says Lesia
Figueria, Prodigy’s spokeswoman. SBC now has a 43 percent indirect ownership stake in Prodigy, though Prodigy has
management control of the business.
In both cases, these departing executives had been effective advocates for their chosen technologies. Farrill has led the CDMA
Development Group, gaining acceptance for CDMA in this country and abroad. He was a key figure in Vodafone’s technology
strategy, and the London-based operator kept its global technology headquarters in the Bay Area, where Farrill was based.
Williams, in turn, is serving his last few months as chairman emeritus at the Universal Wireless Communications Consortium and
will continue to work with the organization in an advisory capacity, according to UWCC spokesman Chris Pearson. But he will
lose his place on the board as SBC’s representative.
Williams’ new duties at Prodigy will dovetail with his re-election to another year as chairman of the WAP Forum, a reflection
that many “departing” wireless executives have taken on closely related challenges. “Prodigy is an Internet-based company, and
as you know, the WAP Forum is comprised of both Internet and wireless companies,” says WAP Forum CEO Scott
Goldman. “We fully expect him to retain his role.”
Williams is not the first wireless executive to go to an Internet firm, and more shifts between roles and companies by highly
visible industry leaders can be expected as technologies continue to converge, Egan suggests.
Wireless operators, data carriers and Internet portals all are trying to reshape themselves to stay competitive, and the newer
firms are tapping seasoned professionals to lead the charge. Meanwhile, entrenched wireless providers have been among the
slowest to pick up expertise from leaders outside the immediate family–from Internet, application service provider and other
realms. |
