Technology >> CEO Interviews >> September 8, 2004

Aaron Cowell Jr. – Us Lec Corporation (clec)

MICHAEL K. ROBINSON is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of US LEC Corp. He joined US LEC in July 1998 as Chief Financial Officer, responsible for finance and investor relations, and has over 20 years of experience in the telecom industry. Since joining US LEC, Mr. Robinson has assumed additional responsibilities including information systems and information technology, human resources, facilities and real estate, and billing system development. Prior to joining US LEC, Mr. Robinson was with Alcatel, an international, multi-billion dollar developer and manufacturer of telecom equipment, where he served as EVP and CFO of the US-based transmission systems division, the worldwide enterprise and data division, as well as corporate committees including pension investments and purchasing. Prior to Alcatel, Mr. Robinson was at Windward International and Siecor (now Corning). He holds a Bachelor's degree from Emory & Henry and an MBA from Wake Forest University. Profile
AARON D. COWELL JR. is President and Chief Executive Office of US LEC Corp. He has been involved in numerous operating areas of the company's business and legal affairs since 1996, including its IPO in April 1998. Mr. Cowell joined US LEC in June 1998 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Later that year, he assumed responsibility for US LEC's sales and field sales support functions. In 1999, his executive management duties were expanded to include US LEC's engineering, operations, regulatory, customer care services and marketing departments. Mr. Cowell was appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer of US LEC in 2000, and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in 2001. He holds positions on the Technology Policy Committee of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and on the Executive Committee for ALTS (The Association for Local Telecommunications Services), through which he helps promote regulations and decisions that will facilitate fair competition in the telecommunications industry. Before joining US LEC in 1998, Mr. Cowell spent 11 years with Moore & Van Allen PLLC, a large Southeastern law firm, where he represented, among others, US LEC and Alcatel, primarily in corporate finance and merger and acquisition matters. Mr. Cowell is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Duke University. Profile
TWST: We'd like to begin with a brief historical sketch of the company

and a picture of the things you're doing at the present time.

Mr. Cowell: US LEC is a facilities-based CLEC that operates