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To: djane who wrote (4079)	4/23/1999 12:38:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

News.com. Iridium CEO hangs up on company By Reuters Special to CNET News.com April 22, 1999, 3:50 p.m. PT Iridium said today that its chief executive, Edward Staiano, had resigned, raising yet another question about the future of the satellite telephone company. The announcement came just before the close of trading on the Nasdaq stock market, where shares of Iridium fell $1.5625, or 8 percent, to close at $17.0625. The shares are down 75 percent from their 52-week high last May. Iridium said its board of directors formed an executive committee to manage day-to-day operations, and appointed John Richardson as interim CEO. Richardson has been in charge of Iridium's African operations, and is a member of the executive committee. Lyle said the company has hired a search firm to find a new CEO. Staiano resigned due to disagreements on strategy with the board, Iridium spokeswoman Michelle Lyle said. Staiano follows Roy Grant, the former chief financial officer, who said last month he would leave the company. The minor executive exodus follows problems that Iridium, which operates 66 satellites that enable wireless phone calls virtually anywhere in the world, has had in meeting earlier expectations of revenue and subscriber numbers. Slow production and distribution of phones by suppliers, quality problems with certain phone handsets, and poor marketing by regional affiliates all contributed to the shortfalls. In March, lenders granted the company a two-month extension to meet growth targets of $4 million in cash revenues, $30 million in cumulative accrued revenues and at 52,000 customers by March 31. Iridium, which at the end of last year had only 3,000 subscribers, has said it does not expect to be able to meet the goals. Analysts expect Iridium's lender to renegotiate the terms of the loans, as well as a possible further financial commitment from Motorola, which owns 20 percent of Iridium. Lyle said ongoing negotiations with the lenders were going well, and would hopefully be completed by the end of May. The company is set to report first quarter earnings on April 26, when it will give updated revenue and subscriber figures. Story Copyright © 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1995-99 CNET, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy policy.