Laura W. Thomas
Interim Chief Executive Officer, & Chief Financial Officer
Laura W. Thomas is interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer for XO Communications. In this role, she has responsibility for the company’s operations and strategic transformation into a leading provider of data and IP services with a superior customer experience for business, large enterprise and wholesale customers. As CFO, Thomas also oversees the company’s finance organization.
Prior to her appointment as CFO, Thomas served as vice president of Finance for nine years. During this period, she worked closely with the senior executive team to manage the company's financial position as it transformed into a broadband-focused telecommunications company.
Laura brings 30 years of experience in finance and telecommunications at companies such as Concert Communications, a joint venture between MCI Communications and British Telecom, where she was Vice President of Finance and later served as acting CFO. Prior to that, she headed the revenue reporting and analysis division and managed investor relations and financial planning across all of MCI's business units.
Thomas earned her Masters of Business Administration from George Washington University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Business from Radford University.
Ernie Ortega
Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Ernie Ortega is executive vice president of sales and marketing for XO Communications, overseeing the company’s mid-market, enterprise, government and wholesale sales efforts. Ortega’s organization of marketing, sales and support professionals is focused on delivering solutions that optimize customer performance by leveraging XO’s extensive network infrastructure, broad portfolio of IP communications, managed network and IT services and commitment to exceptional customer service, value and performance.
Before assuming his current position, Ortega served as president of XO Carrier Services where he was responsible for marketing, operations, sales and service delivery of wholesale voice, data and Internet services to telecommunications companies, cable companies, content providers, Internet service providers and mobile wireless operators.
Ortega’s other responsibilities at XO Communications have included vice president of carrier sales and vice president of national accounts. Mr. Ortega has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry and began his career with MCI, where he held sales management roles in its southwestern U.S. division.
Robert Geller
Executive Vice President, Network & Customer Service
Robert Geller is executive vice president of network and customer service, with responsibility for network technology, network operations and the XO customer experience. He leads a 1,800-member organization responsible for the company’s advanced network infrastructure, service delivery and providing a differentiated customer experience to serve the unique requirements of XO enterprise, mid-market, government and wholesale customers.
Before being named to his current position in September 2011, Geller was chief information officer and was responsible for the company’s IT operations. During his tenure as CIO, he significantly improved the quality, timeliness and cost management of IT operations. Under his leadership, the XO IT department was recognized as the leading IT organization in the telecommunications industry and among the top IT organizations among all industries by InformationWeek magazine every year since 2008. He also received the CIO 100 award from CIO magazine in 2009 and 2010.
Prior to joining XO, Geller served as senior vice president of information technology at US West/Qwest where he played a pivotal role in raising delivery standards and producing key systems for long distance, DSL, wireless, and e-business for all of the company's business units. Before that, he was vice president of software development for MCI.
Navid Haghighi
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
Navid Haghighi is executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for XO Communications. In this role, he leads XO’s legal and regulatory department and serves as a member of the executive management team. Haghighi is responsible for managing all aspects of legal and telecommunications regulatory functions at XO Communications, including complex transactions, litigation, employment, corporate, real estate, procurement, intellectual property, state and federal regulatory compliance and legislative affairs. Haghighi has more than 20 years of wide-ranging experience in telecommunications and web services, including technical and management positions at AT&T where he began his career in the technical ranks. His law firm and in-house positions have allowed him to practice at the intersection of law and technology. Prior to joining XO Communications in 2004, Haghighi held legal and business positions at MCI and AOL and worked as an associate in a Washington, DC law firm.
Haghighi holds an undergraduate degree in computer science from Louisiana State University, a master of computer science degree from the University of Virginia, and is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. Haghighi serves on the board of directors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel
Don MacNeil
Chief Marketing Officer
Don MacNeil is chief marketing officer for XO Communications. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s strategy and vision for serving business and wholesale customers and developing and managing the company’s portfolio of IP, data and next generation network services. He has responsibility for all XO marketing functions, including overall go-to-market strategies, brand, product marketing, customer segment marketing, and sales enablement.
MacNeil organization drives the company’s strategy and visibility, bringing to market industry-leading services for business and wholesale customers leveraging XO Communications’ advanced IP communications, network, security and information technology solutions capabilities to help customers improve performance and solve key business challenges.
Before assuming this role in September 2011, MacNeil served as vice president of carrier services operations overseeing sales operations, product management, and the customer experience for XO Carrier Services, the company’s wholesale services business unit. Don joined XO Communications in 2000 and has held various management positions in operations, network engineering and sales with responsibilities that included the selection, engineering and deployment of new technologies associated with next generation XO network and services focused on Ethernet and IP.
Prior to joining XO Communications, MacNeil was an officer in the United States Navy, where he developed and designed complex network systems. MacNeil is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds Masters Degrees in Physics and Business Administration.
Mike Cromwell
Senior Vice President, Business Services
Michael Cromwell is senior vice president of Business Services at XO Communications, overseeing the company’s enterprise, mid-market and government sales efforts nationwide. Cromwell’s organization of sales and support professionals is focused on delivering advanced solutions to help customers solve complex challenges and improve business performance by leveraging XO Communications’ IP services expertise, extensive network infrastructure and broad portfolio of IP communications, managed network and IT infrastructure solutions.
Prior to this appointment, he served as vice president for the Central Region, where he managed an organization of more than 200 sales and support professionals with responsibility for growing relationships with enterprise customers across 14 states.
Prior to joining XO Communications, Cromwell served as regional vice president of Global Crossing’s Enterprise Organization for the Western half of the United States, including direct and indirect sales, client services and engineering teams. He was also instrumental in leading Global Crossing’s re-launch into Asia. Mr. Cromwell started his telecommunications career at Allnet Communications which was acquired by Frontier and then Global Crossing. He spent 19 years in that organization.
Cromwell graduated from University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He currently resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and two children.
Debbie Pollock-Berry
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Debbie Pollock-Berry is senior vice president of human resources for XO Communications. In this position, she is responsible for developing and implementing human resources policies and strategies in support of the XO nationwide workforce, supporting the achievement of key business objectives and building a workplace environment that creates the behaviors to drive the company’s success.
Prior to joining XO communications in April 2011, Ms. Pollock-Berry served as chief people officer for the North American Energy Alliance (NAEA) where she focused on understanding and responding to employee concerns, developing and retaining key talent, establishing leadership succession planning, and implementing strategic programs to poise the company for growth. Prior to that, she held HR leadership positions at AOL and Verizon as well as human resources roles at Qwest Communications and PSINet.
Ms. Pollock-Berry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. She has also successfully completed a variety of professional leadership development programs including the "Strategic Leadership for Women Program" at the Simmons School of Management. She is a member of professional associations including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Steve Nocella
Senior Vice President, Network Services
As senior vice president of network services, Steve Nocella oversees all aspects of the company’s network operations, network engineering, process development and service assurance.
Prior to assuming this role, Nocella had been vice president of network operations, and before that had been vice president of network engineering. In those positions he was responsible for network operations, service delivery, and planning as well as the deployment of network technology. Prior to these roles, he was director of network engineering, managing the company’s switching, transport and access networks in the northeast region.
Nocella began his career with AT&T Local Services where he held a number of positions in planning, operations, and engineering.
Nocella holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Randy Nicklas
Chief Technology Officer
As Chief Technology Officer for XO Communications, Randy Nicklas is responsible for the overall network technology vision for the company’s voice, data, and transport networks. He also advises on the overall design of the company’s commercial and wholesale voice, data and IP-based services.
Previously, Randy was vice president of Engineering, responsible for the design, implementation, and sustaining engineering of XO’s transport, voice and data networks. Before joining XO, he held engineering and technical management positions at Intelsat, Cisco, and MCI. Randy has also worked in the areas of software development and systems engineering on a variety of aerospace programs for NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Computer Sciences Corporation.
He obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Applied Mathematics and an M.S. in Physics, all from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
