Hawaiian Telcom replaces CEO Ruley
Battered by more than two years of losses, Hawaiian Telcom has replaced Mike Ruley as its CEO and replaced him with an expert on fixing broken companies.
The telephone company announced late Monday that Stephen Cooper, chairman of a New York-based advisory and management firm, will serve as CEO. Cooper and his firm, Kroll Zolfo Cooper, are known for cleaning up bankrupt companies and Cooper was appointed as CEO of Enron in 2002 after the Texas energy company imploded.
"Steve Cooper brings tremendous leadership skills and a well established track record of operational excellence," said Hawaiian Telcom board member James Attwood Jr., who also heads a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group, parent company of Hawaiian Telcom.
"We are grateful to Mike for his dedication, leadership and service to Hawaiian Telcom during its transition to a stand-alone company."
Ruley was brought on board in 2004 when Carlyle bought Verizon Hawaii for $1.6 billion.
Cooper previously was a financial consulting partner of Touche Ross, now Deloitee & Touche online cash advance. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
"The team at Hawaiian Telcom has been working hard to improve service and responsiveness to customers, but we recognize that there is more work to be done," Cooper said in a statement.
In addition to Enron, Cooper and his company have been paid millions to clean up Polaroid, Krispy Kreme and Laidlaw. His hourly rate at Krispy Kreme was $760, according to a January 2005 story in The New York Times.
"Turnaround artist Stephen Cooper commands top dollar for trying to bring failed companies back to life," U.S. News and World Report said in a 2003 profile.
The company also named Stephen Gray vice chairman of the board.