Windstream discloses its newly appointed Board of Directors

– USA, AR –  Windstream Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: WIN), a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions, today announced nine appointments to its new Board of Directors that will govern the Company upon emergence from restructuring as a privately-held company later this summer. Tony Thomas also will continue leading Windstream as President and CEO and will serve as a member of the Board.

“We are pleased to announce these appointments to the new Board of Windstream, which will include an impressive group of senior leaders with extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, strong operational and financial expertise and significant track records of success,” said Tony Thomas.

He added: “Windstream will benefit from their valuable insights and guidance as we continue executing the Company’s strategy to provide innovative network and software solutions to customers. I would also like to express my appreciation for our retiring Board members for their service to Windstream. They have provided valuable oversight for many years, and, on behalf of Windstream, I want to thank them for their dedication and leadership.”

Mr. Thomas continued, “I am extremely honored to continue serving as president and CEO of this incredible organization. Over the past few years, Windstream has made tremendous progress in our goal to transform our business to growth, and I look forward to working with the new Board to accelerate our transformation for long-term value creation. We will emerge from restructuring with a strong balance sheet and access to approximately $2 billion in new capital to expand 1 Gig broadband service to rural America and help businesses succeed in the digital transformation.”

The Company will name one additional member to the board at a later date.

About David Brown

David Brown is a Managing Director of Oaktree Capital Management. Previously, Brown was a Principal at Glendon Capital Management. Prior thereto, he was a vice president with Citigroup Global Markets and also a Managing Director with Archview Investment Group. He first joined Oaktree in 2003, after having spent two years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an analyst in the Mergers & Strategic Advisory Group.

About Randy Dunbar

Randy Dunbar most recently served as President of Zayo’s Global Transport Segment. He had P&L responsibility for various fiber-based businesses that included product, engineering, architecture, service delivery and NCC/Support functions. Previously, Dunbar was Vice President of Wholesale and Strategic Partnerships at Clearwire Corporation and SVP, Enterprise Business Unit at Level 3 Communications.

About Bruce Kenny

Bruce Kenny  is an Operating Executive at Evergreen Coast Capital where he assists portfolio companies in the product, technology, cloud operations, IT systems and services. He has over 30 years of experience in technology product companies. Kenny has operated across various sectors of the enterprise software industry, including ERP, CRM, Information Management, Analytics, and eCommerce. Prior to Evergreen, Kenny was Vice President, Product Development and Hosted Operations at Viewpoint Construction Software, a Bain Capital portfolio company. He was previously CTO and EVP Products at Webtrends, a Francisco Partners portfolio company. He has also had stints with Infopia, an e-commerce platform, and Pivotal Corp., a customer relationship management software company. He currently sits on the boards of Travelport, Quest Software and ASG Technologies and is an observer at Athenahealth and Gigamon.

About William LaPerch

William LaPerch was President and Chief Executive Officer of AboveNet, a publicly-traded provider of high bandwidth fiber-optic connectivity solutions, where he managed the company through its Chapter 11 reorganization. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. LaPerch is a current Windstream board member and member of the Digital Realty Trust board.

About W. Robert Mudge

Mudge most recently served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Verizon. He was responsible for the design and construction of Verizon’s national fiber build and network densification, as well as the planning, acquisition and integration of XO communications into Verizon. Previously, Mudge was Executive Vice President of Network Operations at Verizon. Before that, he was President of Consumer and Mass Business Markets at Verizon where he oversaw approximately $30 billion in annual revenues and 35,000 employees. Mudge currently serves on the Board of Directors of UniTek Global Services.

About Paul Sunu

Paul Sunu was the former CEO of FairPoint Communications until its merger with Consolidated Communications in 2017. Prior to FairPoint, Sunu was the CFO of Hargray Communications, Hawaiian Telcom Communications and Madison River Communications. He is the former Chairman of the Board of Electric Lightwave and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Madison River Communications, Hawaiian Telcom Communications and Centennial Communications.

About Tony Thomas

Thomas has served as President and CEO of Windstream since his appointment in December 2014. Thomas served as the CFO for Windstream from August 2009 through September 2014. Thomas joined Windstream as controller following the spinoff from Alltel Corp. He held a variety of financial and operational leadership roles at Alltel after joining the company when it merged with 360 Communications in 1998. Thomas is a current Windstream board member.

About Anand Vadapalli

Anand Vadapalli currently serves as Operating Partner at SDC Capital Partners LLC and Director at Premera Blue Cross where he also chairs the Audit Committee. Previously Vadapalli served as the President and CEO of Alaska Communications as well as Chairman of the Board for USTelecom. His sector experience includes prior service in various capacities at Valor Telecom, Network Telephone, Cincinnati Bell / Broadwing.

About Michael Watchorn

Michael Watchorn is a Principal of Seapoint Capital Management, LLC, a privately held family office investment and consulting firm. Previously, Watchorn served as SVP and Portfolio Manager in both the Global Corporate Credit and Distressed Credit groups of Pacific Investment Management Company, the latter of which he founded in 2009. Prior to that he served as a Managing Director and High Yield Bond Portfolio Manager at Oaktree Capital Management (and its predecessor unit at Trust Company of the West), where he directed analysts’ research efforts and reviewed the analyses produced in support of portfolio activities. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has served as a Visiting Lecturer of Economics at Claremont McKenna College. Watchorn currently serves on the board of directors of Westmoreland Mining Holdings LLC.

About Johannes Weber

Johannes Weber is a Portfolio Manager in the New York office of Elliott Management Corporation, a New York-based investment fund with approximately $40 billion in assets under management. He is responsible for certain public and private equity and credit investments across multiple industries.

About Windstream

Windstream Holdings, Inc., is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions. Windstream provides data networking, core transport, security, unified communications and managed services to mid-market, enterprise and wholesale customers across the U.S. The company also offers broadband, entertainment and security services for consumers and small and medium-sized businesses primarily in rural areas in 18 states. Services are delivered over multiple network platforms including a nationwide IP network, our proprietary cloud core architecture and on a local and long-haul fiber network spanning approximately 164,000 miles.

For more information: https://www.windstream.com

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