Windstream hires tw telecom veteran Lackey as SVP of carrier operations, furthers carrier, data center focus

Windstream has named former tw telecom and Level 3 Communications executive Beth Lackey as senior vice president of carrier operations, shoring up more of its leadership for a division that's increasing the scope of its customer targets.

Beth Lackey, Windstream

Lackey

Reporting to Mike Shippey, president of Windstream carrier solutions, Lackey will oversee service delivery, service assurance, and the customer experience team for the carrier business unit.

Lackey will lead and guide initiatives to assess current internal business processes, analyzing the results in order to improve the overall carrier customer experience -- from order entry to the ongoing service of customers.

Her appointment comes at a time when Windstream continues to expand and enhance its network to accommodate the growing diversity of its wholesale customer base. Besides selling to carriers, Windstream previously aligned its carrier business to satisfy the growing needs of cable operators, content enablers, data centers and strategic international partners.

The wholesale service unit has been a challenge for Windstream. During the first quarter, carrier service revenues were $163 million, down 7 percent year-over-year due to declining legacy services offset in part by sales of Ethernet and optical wavelength services utilizing the company's 100G fiber transport network.

To improve its presence with a wider range of customers, Windstream has been expanding its growing 100G network into more carrier hotels, international submarine cable landing stations, and data centers.

Lackey comes to Windstream from Level 3 Communications, where she led service delivery in North America and Asia.

A 35-year telecom veteran, Lackey previously served in a range of leadership roles at tw telecom, Covad Communications and US West.

By serving in these roles, she gained expertise in areas including customer experience strategy, network and customer operations, field services, sales, marketing, and process improvement.

For more:
- see the release

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