HONOLULU, June 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. (Nasdaq:HCOM) announced that Scott Barber, currently Hawaiian Telcom's chief operating officer, has been selected as the company's new president and chief executive officer and will also serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Barber will assume the new role on Monday, June 22, 2015. Barber succeeds Eric Yeaman, who resigned to become the president & chief operating officer of First Hawaiian Bank, Hawai'i's largest bank with $18.7 billion in assets. Yeaman will remain engaged as a member of Hawaiian Telcom's Board of Directors.
"We are thankful for Eric's outstanding leadership over the past seven years" said Richard Jalkut, Hawaiian Telcom's Chairman of the Board. "Eric successfully led the Company's return to profitability and growth as well as its transformation to become Hawai'i's technology leader with the launch of Hawaiian Telcom TV, 1 Gigabit internet speeds and advanced cloud based services.
"We were very fortunate to recruit Scott almost three years ago, and we are very confident in his ability to lead Hawaiian Telcom to even greater success. Scott's passion for deploying advanced technology and networks in order to improve our customers' experience is second to none in the industry. We look forward to more exciting customer offerings in the future as we continue to grow the company," added Jalkut.
"I am honored to have been elected as Hawaiian Telcom's next CEO," said Barber. "I look forward to continuing to work with Hawaiian Telcom's dedicated local employees and our visionary Board of Directors to cement our position as Hawai'i's technology leader, delivering innovative products and services along with outstanding customer service for Hawai'i's businesses and residents."
Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom, Barber served as COO of SureWest Communications, a publicly traded telecommunications company providing voice, video and data services to both residential and commercial customers in the greater Sacramento, California; Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri areas. He began his career as a construction lineworker 33 years ago at Kerman Telephone Company. He later joined SureWest and worked his way up the organization through engineering, network and operations to COO, devoting 20 years to the company. While at SureWest, Barber led operational efforts that mirror Hawaiian Telcom's expansion of internet protocol television (IPTV) over fiber optic and copper facilities; next generation voice, data and managed services for business; and wireless data backhaul.
Barber's community involvement currently includes serving on the Boards of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i and Aloha United Way.
Barber earned his bachelor's degree in Finance from Regis University.
Click here for a high-resolution photo of Scott Barber.
About Hawaiian Telcom
Hawaiian Telcom (Nasdaq:HCOM), headquartered in Honolulu, is Hawai'i's technology leader, providing integrated communications, broadband, data center and entertainment solutions for business and residential customers. With roots in Hawai'i beginning in 1883, the Company offers a full range of services including Internet, video, voice, wireless, data network solutions and security, colocation, and managed and cloud services supported by the reach and reliability of its next generation fiber network and a 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom provides an Always OnSM customer experience. For more information, visit www.hawaiiantel.com.
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