McGrath Joins FirstWorld as President, CEO

CarrierHotels News Staff

Nov. 6, 2000 -- After a national search, FirstWorld Communications, Inc. said today it has selected SBC executive J. Thomas McGrath as its new president and CEO.
McGrath brings over 20 years of industry experience to his new post, most recently as President of SBC DataComm, a division of SBC, and one of the nation's largest providers of data, Internet and network integration solutions
McGrath's hiring follows FirstWorld's recent announcement of the opening of its 10th Internet data center, giving the company nearly 250,000 gross square feet of space throughout the Western United States, including Colorado, Texas, California, Oregon and Utah.
"After a very aggressive national search, we have had the great fortune to bring a quality leader on board to help FirstWorld execute on its Internet Data Center strategy,'' said Donald L. Sturm, Chairman of FirstWorld. "Tom shares our vision and confidence in FirstWorld and will strive to establish the Company as a leader in the complex Web and application hosting solutions industry. The experience and leadership that he brings combined with his ability to build and run effective operations, will surely be a driving force for FirstWorld.''
"I am extremely excited to join FirstWorld -- not only because of the reputation and track record of its backers like Donald Sturm and Texas Pacific Group, but because FirstWorld has financial strength, employee talent and state-of-the-art facilities and products,'' said McGrath, president and CEO of FirstWorld. ``I believe the Company has the potential to achieve great success in the future.''
McGrath earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut in 1974 and an MBA degree from the University of New Haven in 1979. He served three years in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. In the late 1970s, he entered the communications industry with Southern New England Telephone and was consistently promoted to executive sales and marketing positions until he left in 1989 to join Sprint. McGrath served in various executive roles with Sprint until he joined SBC DataComm in 1998.
FirstWorld Communications, Inc., headquartered in Denver, Colo., operatesInternet Data Centers that host, monitor and maintain mission-critical Web sites, e-commerce platforms and business applications for small and medium-sized businesses.