Avaya Promotes Executives
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Avaya Inc. (NYSE: AV) Board of Directors appointed Louis J. D'Ambrosio to president and chief executive officer. D'Ambrosio has held a series of key leadership roles at Avaya, most recently as senior vice president and president, global sales and marketing. The company's board of directors also has appointed Michael Thurk, Avaya's senior vice president and president, global communications solutions, as chief operating officer. The company also announced that Donald K. Peterson, who will be stepping down as president and CEO, will remain Avaya's chairman of the board of directors through September 30, 2006.
D'Ambrosio has played key leadership roles on the Avaya Executive Council. In his most recent role as Avaya's senior vice president and president, global sales and marketing, D'Ambrosio led a team responsible for Avaya's $5 billion revenue stream and achieving market share leadership in IP telephony. He leads the company's initiatives to translate technology innovation into customer solutions.
Previously at Avaya, D'Ambrosio led Avaya's services business unit, which provides the most comprehensive full life-cycle services in the communications industry -- including network consulting, deployment, integration, maintenance, and managed services.
Before joining Avaya in 2002, D'Ambrosio spent 16 years at IBM where he held leadership roles in IBM global services, software, and sales and marketing. These roles included leading worldwide strategy for IBM Global Services, leading field operations for IBM Software, and heading up a vertical business unit in Asia Pacific. D'Ambrosio was a member of IBM's worldwide management committee.
D'Ambrosio began his career with AT&T, in the same division that that has ultimately become Avaya.
D'Ambrosio received his master's degree from Harvard Business School and bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University, summa cum laude.
As a member of Avaya's executive team for the past four years and most recently as president of Global Communications Solutions, Thurk has helped lead Avaya's efforts to develop and offer converged communication solutions to meet businesses' needs worldwide. Thurk has more than 30 years of data and telecommunications experience, including management positions at Ericsson, Digital Equipment and several U.S. data communications companies. At Ericsson, he was executive bice president, data backbone and optical networks division.
Before his assignment with Ericsson, he was president of Boston-based Xyplex Networks, a network equipment developer. Thurk was senior vice president for two years with General DataComm, with responsibility for marketing and service. Prior to that, he worked for 14 years with Digital Equipment, in senior roles and as a vice president responsible for enterprise network and telecommunications related businesses. He began his career at GTE.
Thurk has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Purdue University, a master's degree from Babson College, and completed the advanced management program at INSEAD in France.