JACKSON, Miss. - (February 5, 2007) – Cellular South, the nation's largest privately held wireless provider, today announced the promotions of four vice presidents to senior vice president. The four vice presidents promoted to senior vice president include: Suzy Hays, senior vice president, customer operations; Tony Kent, senior vice president, engineering and network operations; Greg Latour, senior vice president, technology development; and Sherry Stegall, senior vice president.
Senior Vice President Promotions
Suzy Hays - Senior Vice President, Customer Operations
Suzy Hays has been promoted to senior vice president, customer operations. Ms. Hays joined Cellular South in 1992 and has been involved in the marketing and product development of telecommunication services for over 15 years. As senior vice president, customer operations, she is responsible for the Company's overall marketing, branding, advertising and public relations strategies. She is also responsible for sales and retail operations, including strategic marketing and operations direction for retail, corporate, telesales and website sales channels, as well as the customer call center.
Ms. Hays earned a B.S. in Marketing from Mississippi College and an M.B.A. from the University of Mississippi.
Tony Kent - Senior Vice President, Engineering and Network Operations
Tony Kent has been promoted to senior vice president, engineering and network operations. Mr. Kent has been with Cellular South for over 12 years, with responsibilities including engineering, building and operating the wireless network, switches and cell sites. He led the implementation and upgrade of the Company's next generation CDMA 1X network, as well as the installment of an advanced network management system that provides real time data to improve network call quality and operating efficiency. In addition, he led the restoration of Cellular South's network to 100% capacity in record time following Hurricane Katrina. Prior to joining Cellular South, Mr. Kent was with BellSouth for 14 years. Mr. Kent retired from the U.S. Army/Mississippi National Guard in 1994 at the rank of Major after 23 years of service.
Mr. Kent holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mississippi.
Greg Latour - Senior Vice President, Technology Development
Greg Latour has been promoted to senior vice president, technology development. Mr. Latour has been with Cellular South for eight years and is responsible for corporate information technology, including all OSS applications, databases, operating systems, hardware, system support and data networking. Additionally he is responsible for technology planning and the identification, development, and delivery of all data-centric consumer products. He is also charged with the formation of partnerships and alliances outside the company that can assist in bringing advanced data products to market. Prior to joining Cellular South, Mr. Latour was a manager in a global consulting firm and provided consulting services in the areas of system security, software development and maintenance, revenue assurance, business process re-engineering, project management, and information technology policies and procedures development.
Mr. Latour holds a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.B.A. from Nicholls State University.
Sherry Stegall - Senior Vice President
Sherry Stegall has been promoted to the newly created position of senior vice president. Ms. Stegall has been with Cellular South for over 12 years and is responsible for overseeing quality assurance programs impacting all operational areas of the company, audit and compliance activities, strategic planning, project management and systems testing, as well as government relations and strategies. Prior to this new role, Ms. Stegall served as vice president of finance and was responsible for finance, accounting, financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting for the Company. She has over 20 years accounting experience, including ten years as a CPA with Ernst & Young where she was involved in several public offerings. Ms. Stegall served on CTIA - The Wireless Association's task force which established standard definitions for certain key performance indicators that are commonly tracked and publicly reported in the wireless industry.
Ms. Stegall received a B.A. in Music from Millsaps College, a Masters degree in Music from the University of Mississippi, and a post-baccalaureate certificate in Accounting from Millsaps College. She serves on several community Boards, including Goodwill Industries and the Mississippi Symphony, and is an active member of First Baptist Church Jackson.
About Cellular South
Cellular South is the largest privately held wireless provider in the U.S. The company is focused on providing the best service possible through its nationwide wireless voice and data network, award-winning customer care, state-of-the-art wireless devices, and commitment to the communities it serves. Cellular South was recently honored with the 2005 Wireless Week Excellence Award, 2006 Newcomen Award, and a concurrent resolution from the Mississippi Legislature commending the executives and employees of Cellular South for the company's extraordinary efforts in Hurricane Katrina's wake. For more information, visit www.cellularsouth.com.
Contact:
Erin Conn, CKPR for Cellular South, (312) 616-2584, econn@ckpr.biz
