EarthLink Names Joseph Eazor President And CEO, Succeeding Rolla Huff

(RTTNews) - Network, communications and IT services provider EarthLink, Inc. (ELNK) said Monday that Rolla Huff has retired as president and chief executive officer of the company. The company's board of directors named Joseph Eazor as the new President and CEO as well as a member of the board of directors, effective January 13, 2014. Huff will continue to serve as chairman of the board for a transition period.

Huff has served as Atlanta, Georgia-based EarthLink's CEO since June 2007, and as president from June 2007 to May 2010 and again since January 2013. He was elected chairman of the board in January 2008.

Huff was named CEO of Mpower Holding Corp., a business telecommunications company, in November 1999 and chairman of the board of Mpower in July 2001. He served in both capacities until Mpower Holdings' merger with a subsidiary of U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp. in August 2006.

From March 1999 until its acquisition in September 1999, Huff served as President and COO of Frontier Corp. and as executive vice president and chief financial officer of that corporation from May 1998 to March 1999.

From July 1997 to May 1998, Huff served as president of AT&T Wireless for the Central U.S. Region, and as senior vice president and chief financial officer of that company from 1995 to 1997. From 1994 to 1995, he was Financial Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions for AT&T.

The incoming CEO, Eazor, aged 51, has more than two decades of IT industry and consulting experience. Most recently, he was EVP and COO of Global Sales and Customer Operations for EMC Corp. (EMC).

Prior to joining EMC, he held a variety of senior leadership positions at HP and EDS, including SVP and GM of HP Enterprise Services, EVP of EDS Corporate Strategy and Development, and president of EDS Asia Pacific.

Eazor also has served as a director of McKinsey & Co., a partner and board member of ATKearney, and CEO of Springbow Solutions, a company that developed and provided portal-based internet solutions.

Huff said, "I am proud to have been a part of the incredible transformation of EarthLink from a consumer ISP business to a next generation nationwide network and IT services business. We are indeed fortunate to have attracted an established senior technology executive of Joe Eazor's stature to take the platform we have built to the next level."

ELNK closed Friday's trading at $5.03, up $0.16 or 3.29 percent on a volume of 2.83 million shares.