Qwest chairman and chief executive Dick Notebaert took over the Denver- based telecommunications company after it had “ridden the light” to the edge of bankruptcy and guided it back to solvency.
In place of the flashy sloganeering and Enron-style bookkeeping fancied by his predecessor, Joe Nacchio, Notebaert took Qwest back to its roots, drawing on his past experience as chief executive of Baby Bell Ameritech to restore the notion of providing fundamental value to customers, as summed up in the current “Spirit of Service” campaign.
Notebaert’s impending resignation completes a turnover of Qwest’s top management. Former chief financial officer Oren Shaffer recently left and executive vice president of operations Barry Allen will retire at the end of the month.
Under the trio’s leadership, Qwest has posted five straight quarterly profits, mainly through cost cuttings and growth in high- speed Internet subscribers. The company’s debt has been pared from more than $26 billion to $14.9 billion by various means, including sales of non-core assets and its yellow pages business.
The result is a company whose fundamental survival now seems assured, though it may yet end up merging or being acquired by another telecom. Now, five years after taking the helm, Notebaert said it is time to spend more time with his family and other interests.
Five years is about right for a corporate turnabout the size of Qwest’s, and it may well be time for others to chart the company’s future course. Notebaert’s financial rewards have been ample but not outlandish and, by all signs, he has earned a rest.
Notebaert, who also has taken an active civic role, has served his company and this community well, and we look forward to his continued presence on the civic scene, even as he settles in to the well-earned joys of grandparenting.
