Xypoint Corp. named Jim Thornton chief financial officer with responsibility for all accounting, administration, human resources, risk management and treasury functions. Prior to joining the company, Thornton was president and chief executive officer of Ventana Corp. Before that he was president of finance and operations for Aldus Corp., the company that created PageMaker software.
Cable & Wireless Inc. named Richard Yalen chief operating officer. He has held the positions of senior vice president of marketing and customer satisfaction and general manager of prepaid calling card services at the company. Yalen has more than 25 years of experience in domestic and international communications, with a major emphasis on the sales, marketing, operations and engineering of long distance services. Before joining Cable & Wireless five years ago, Yalen spent 16 years with TRT/FTC Communications Inc. Prior to that he was a regulatory economics consultant.
Stephen Thomas has been promoted to general operations manager of CellComm Prepaid Cellular Technologies Inc. Most recently he was director of sales. His new responsibilities include positioning the company to enter foreign markets, streamlining manufacturing and growth of the dealership distribution channel. Prior to joining the company, Thomas held positions with BellSouth Corp. including national account executive for BellSouth Mobility Inc. and account executive for BellSouth Enterprises’ personal communications services research team.
Scott Henderson accepted the position of vice president of sales and marketing for Roamer One Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intek Diversified Corp. He will assume overall responsibility for marketing Roamer One’s airtime services and loading subscribers on the company’s network of systems. Henderson served as vice president of sales and marketing for E.F. Johnson Co. and Uniden America Corp. before joining Roamer One.
Powertel Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of InterCel Inc., announced Michael Tatom has been named executive vice president and general manager for certain personal communications services properties in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. He has been with the company since 1995, serving in positions including vice president and general manager of the company’s southern cellular division. Before that he spent 20 years with AT&T Corp. in various management positions.
Paging Network Inc. promoted William Scott to senior vice president of systems and technology. Most recently he was vice president of systems and technology. Scott will continue to oversee the technical infrastructure of PageNet, and he will lead the construction of PageNet’s narrowband personal communications services network.
Comsat Corp.’s board of directors named Benjamin Pontano president of Comsat Laboratories. He had served as vice president of the Laboratories’ Network Technology Division and acting vice president of its Communications Technology Division.
Pontano joined Comsat Laboratories in 1969 as manager of laboratory simulation where he was responsible for analysis and simulation of satellite transmission performance. He later joined Fairchild Space and Electronics where he helped launch American Satellite Corp., and he held technical and management positions with International Telecommunications Satellite Organization. He returned to Comsat Laboratories in 1981.
AirTouch Communications Inc. appointed Scott Falconer vice president of marketing for AirTouch Cellular. He will be responsible for development and implementation of AirTouch Cellular’s marketing strategy including national brand management, retail distribution, corporate accounts, handset acquisition and new product development. Previously, Falconer was general manager of AirTouch Paging in Northern California.
InterCel Inc. named Jeffrey Dorety vice president of sales and service for its cellular division. Dorety joined InterCel in 1996 as director of sales. Prior to that he spent 10 years with AT&T Corp.’s business equipment division in sales and sales management positions. He will be responsible for all of InterCel’s sales, marketing and customer service functions for the company’s properties in eastern Alabama and western Georgia.
John Coultas was named business development manager for ArrayComm Inc., with responsibility for developing international business opportunities for wireless local loop products. Coultas also will develop and implement a strategic international account plan and manage account relationships, the company said. Prior to joining ArrayComm, Coultas was the manager of global business development for Avirnex, where he was responsible for development of worldwide business and assisting regional sale management teams in Europe, Scandinavia, Latin America, Asia and Asia Pacific.
