Escalona, who led the AT&T startup company's launch and rapid penetration of the Mexican telecommunications marketplace, will assume the day-to-day duties of GlobeNet from present CEO and Chairman Mike Kedar. Kedar, a well-known telecommunications entrepreneur and visionary will concentrate on activities as chairman of the board of directors, while continuing as a member of the management group.
Kedar founded GlobeNet with the establishment of the facilities-based international carrier and undersea cable company, TeleBermuda International Limited (TBI), which began operation in 1997.
"With an intimate working knowledge of a wide range of advanced telecom services, equipment, and networks, Jorge brings a tremendous breadth of global telecom experience to our team," said Kedar. "Importantly, Jorge also has excellent experience launching and growing competitive start-up telecom companies, such as AT&T's Alestra, in marketplaces experiencing new competition from global players. We are excited to have Jorge join us as we continue to aggressively pursue telecom investment opportunities around the world."
"It was easy for me to see the value in GlobeNet," said Escalona. "The Latin American telecom market is hot. All the factors are in place to foster the same kind of growth we've seen in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific Rim. GlobeNet is right on target to serve that market as it develops, beginning this September when our cable lands in Brazil."
Escalona, 49, joins GlobeNet from AT&T, where he most recently served as vice president of the global segment in AT&T's Consumer Markets Division. In this role, Escalona led the $4 billion business of marketing AT&T products and services to U.S.-based consumers.
During his 25-year career at AT&T, Escalona also led several high-growth start-up organizations, including Alestra, a joint venture led by AT&T with Alfa and Bancomer of Mexico. While in that position, Escalona built one of the largest state-of-the-art domestic and international long-distance network infrastructures in Mexico and, upon the opening of the country's telecommunications industry to competition in 1997, Alestra became the leading new carrier. Just 18 months after its inception, Alestra was serving over one million customers and earning $300 million in revenues under Escalona.
Prior to that, Escalona served as president of AT&T Mexico, where he directed all in-country business for AT&T, which included computer and telecommunications equipment, manufacturing operations and financial and communications services. From 1990 to 1992, Escalona served as president of AT&T's long distance and equipment company in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 1992, Escalona was appointed international public affairs vice president for the company's operations in the Americas and Sub Sahara Africa regions, where he was responsible for representing AT&T with foreign governments and industry and trade organizations on matters of public policy relating to AT&T businesses.
Escalona began his career at AT&T's Treasury Department in 1975, and later served in various positions of increasing responsibility within the company's financial organization. In 1985, he served as CFO and CIO of AT&T Microelectronics de Espana, based in Madrid, Spain, a position he occupied until 1988, after which he moved to Munich, Germany to become director general finance and administration of AT&T Microeletronics Europe.
Escalona earned a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. from Inter American University in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he graduated with honors.
GlobeNet Communications Group Limited is an independent developer of international fiber-optic cable facilities whose mission is to provide innovative, seamless, city-to-city international telecommunications solutions to wholesale bandwidth purchasers using the most technologically advanced undersea fiber optic facilities currently available. Since
1997, it has provided international services through its wholly-owned, facilities-based
subsidiary, TeleBermuda International Limited (TBI) using the company's BUS-1 undersea fiber optic cable system connecting Bermuda and the United States. TBI has captured more than 35 per cent of the market as the second authorized provider of international service in competition with Cable & Wireless. TBI's services include providing a world-class Internet server farm for hosting offshore e-commerce business applications.
GlobeNet is expanding its BUS-1 network by laying a 22,500-kilometer fiber optic ring, Atlantica-1, to connect North and South America. The first leg of the 1.28 Terabit path is scheduled to be operational in September 2000. Plans for a second phase of the network include connecting South America with southern Europe. With headquarters in St. David's Bermuda, GlobeNet (GLOCOM on the Bermuda Stock Exchange) has offices in New York, Toronto and Montreal.