Thursday June 11, 8:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Franklin Announces Key Executive Appointments At Its Next Generation
Telephone Company
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 11, 1998
Kuykendall tapped as FNet COO; Smith named controller; Serna
appointed general counsel of operating unit and parent company
Citing its success in attracting management talent to address the
challenges of explosive growth in the international IP (Internet
Protocol) telephony market, Franklin Telecom (OTC: FTEL - news) today
announced three executive appointments to key positions at FNet Corp.,
Franklin's next generation telephony company subsidiary.
FNet chief executive officer James L. Magruder said Kevin Kuykendall
joined the company as president and chief operating officer, along with
Stephen Smith, who was appointed controller, and Enrique G. Serna, who
will serve as general counsel for both FNet and the parent company.
''We've assembled our management team with one thought in mind: finding
individuals with the specific knowledge, experience and vision we need
in order to build a true next-generation telephone company. The new
executives joining FNet will keep us in the forefront of today's
revolution in how the world communicates,'' Magruder said.
''The domestic market is consolidating and converting to IP while the
international telecom market is exploding,'' Magruder said, pointing out
that Internet telephony market revenues are expected to reach $1.89
billion by the end of 2000, up from $19.8 million in 1996, according to
Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm.
Magruder said, ''The next major telecom opportunity is in international
IP telephony and we are positioned and ready to make an aggressive move
into this arena. We have the technology, the strategy and the resources
we need, now including the management, to become a major player in this
emerging market.''
FNet's new executives are:
Kevin Kuykendall is president and chief operating officer of FNet. He
also was elected to its board of directors. Previously, in addition to
serving as president and CEO of an international phone company,
Kuykendall has overseen the deployment of numerous corporate global
networks for including Mobil Oil, Honeywell and Baxter Healthcare. His
experience in the telecommunications industry also includes work in
voice compression and satellite technology. Kuykendall was director of
business development with Nuera Communications, a manufacturer of voice
compression equipment, and spent five years in sales and management at
MCI.
Stephen Smith is FNet's controller. Before joining the company, Smith
was president and chief operating officer for Classic Communications
Inc., a cable and communications company that he helped to found in
1992. While there, he created and staffed a high technology centralized
customer service and billing center. Previously, he was vice president
and general manager for Karnack Corporation, the cable television
subsidiary of the LBJ Company. Smith, a certified public accountant,
will establish and oversee the essential service functions for FNet,
including tracking, billing and customer service.
Enrique G. Serna, J.D. LLM, is general counsel for both FNet Corp. and
its parent company, Franklin Telecom. Serna had been general partner for
Serna & Associates, based in San Antonio, Texas and Miami, Fla. He has
also served as vice president of public relations and press for Radio
Programas de Mexico S.A. de C.V. Serna holds an advanced degree in
International Comparative Law from the University of Victoria at British
Columbia, Canada. He has extensive experience in both the legal and
business communities throughout North, Central and South America. At
FNet, Serna will focus on national and international contractural and
corporate tariffing and regulatory issues.
About FNet Corp.
FNet Corp., founded in 1996, is a subsidiary of Franklin
Telecommunications Corp. (OTC: FTEL - news), a designer and manufacturer
of communications devices and software with more than 100,000 nodes
worldwide. FNet Corp. is an international Internet telephone service
company that focuses on the special requirements of corporate and
professional customers and is at the forefront of the emerging Voice
over IP Network market, utilizing hardware manufactured by Franklin
Telecom to offer a unique vertically integrated solution.
Certain statements in this press release constitute ''forward-looking
statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements, expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. |
