Sunit S. Patel to Join Level 3; Will Become Group Vice President
And Chief Financial Officer
Sureel Choksi to Chair New Services Initiative
And Assume Operational Role
BROOMFIELD, Colo., March 13, 2003 - Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT) announced today that Sunit S. Patel has joined the company as group vice president. It is anticipated that Mr. Patel will succeed Sureel Choksi as Chief Financial Officer of Level 3 in May 2003, following the 2003 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Mr. Patel was formerly chief financial officer of Looking Glass Networks Inc., a facilities-based provider of metropolitan telecommunication transport services. Prior to co-founding Looking Glass, Mr. Patel was Treasurer of MCI WorldCom, WorldCom and MFS Communications from 1994 to March 2000. He has extensive experience in financial planning, capital raising, capital allocation, budgeting, management reporting systems, risk management, and mergers and acquisitions.
"Level 3 has emerged as a clear leader in the communications industry following the market difficulties of the past few years," Mr. Patel said. "As a result of the actions the company has taken over the past 24 months, Level 3 is in a strong financial position. I look forward to helping the company continue its success as it builds on the leadership position it has already established."
"Sunit brings extensive telecommunications industry experience to this position, and I look forward to once again having the opportunity to work closely with him, as in our prior days together at MFS Communications," said James Q. Crowe, chief executive officer of Level 3.
Choksi to Chair New Services Initiative
"As we discussed during our earnings conference call in February, Level 3 has achieved the milestones required to position the company as a financially strong business partner to our customers," said Crowe. "It was in large part due to the efforts of Sureel Choksi that we were able to achieve these milestones.
"Because of the success of our financial initiatives, we are now positioned to increase our focus on new services and growing high margin revenues," said Crowe. "This effort is aimed at capitalizing on a singular opportunity to establish our company as the premier provider of innovative communication services to a global group of financially stable customers."
"Given the importance of this effort, I have asked Sureel to chair a group of senior executives charged with improving our ability to develop and deploy new services which leverage our significant technical and organizational advantages. We expect to announce the results of this important initiative at or before the time at which Sureel formally passes his responsibilities to Sunit Patel. We will also announce Sureel's new operational role and responsibilities at that time," said Crowe.
"I have enjoyed my experience serving as Level 3's CFO," said Sureel Choksi. "At the same time, I am excited by the prospect of taking on an operational role and contributing to Level 3's efforts to grow our business. I've known Sunit Patel for a number of years and am pleased that he is joining Level 3. I look forward to working closely with him to ensure a smooth transition."
Company Reaffirms Previous Financial Projections
On February 4, 2003, the company provided financial projections for the first quarter and full year 2003. In conjunction with today's announcement, Sureel Choksi reaffirmed the company's previous projections. "We are reaffirming the projections that we made in our last quarterly release and remain on track to achieve positive free cash flow during the second quarter of 2004."
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, connecting 180 markets in 18 countries. The company serves a broad range of wholesale, enterprise and content customers with a comprehensive suite of services including: Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice and voice over IP services, content delivery and media distribution services. These services provide the building blocks to enable Level 3’s customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The company’s Web address is www.Level3.com.
"Level 3 Communications,” "Level 3," the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements that we make in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our stated goals include, but are not limited to our ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on our network; defend our intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
