It’s been a rough couple of years for FairPoint, the Charlotte, North Carolina based ILEC. The company is currently trying to emerge from bankruptcy – a bankruptcy brought on in large part by FairPoint’s aggressive move to buy rural Verizon assets in the Northeast.
FairPoint’s Verizon odyssey has been well documented and it apparently has taken a toll on CEO David Hauser. FairPoint announced that Hauser is on the way out, awaiting approval from the bankruptcy court for his departure. He will remain as a consultant for the company until their exit from bankruptcy.
If approved by the court, Paul Sunu will replace Hauser as FairPoint CEO. Sunu is a telecom industry veteran, most recently serving as CFO for Hargray Communications in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Previously Sunu was CFO for Hawaiian Telecom and Madison River Communications. Bonnie Newman will become chairman of the FairPoint board.
“As we begin to plan for emergence from Chapter 11, Paul’s extensive telecommunications experience will be a great benefit to FairPoint. David has done an excellent job over the past year guiding the Company through the restructuring process. Now Paul’s telecommunications skill set will drive excellence in performance and profitability as we emerge from Chapter 11,” said Newman in a press release.
