Back to press releasesTelecom Executive Claire Calandra, University Executive Jacob J. Lew, and Former N.Y.C. Police Commissioner Howard Safir Join Board
NEWARK, N.J. – June 18, 2002 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT.B, IDT), a leading multinational carrier and telephone company, is pleased to announce the appointment of three new outside Directors to the Board of the Company’s Winstar unit.
Joining the Winstar Board of Directors are Claire Calandra, formerly a senior executive with TyCom Ltd. and AT&T; Jacob J. Lew, an executive with New York University; and Howard Safir, one of the most successful Police Commissioners in New York City history.
“It’s not everyday you pull off a triple play, but that’s exactly what we just did,” said Howard Jonas, IDT’s Chairman. “Our three new Directors will bring an incredible and varied range of experience and success to the oversight of Winstar as we continue to move it along the way to profitability. It’s an honor to welcome them all to IDT.”
Claire Calandra is President of the CLC Group, a management consulting firm focusing on the telecommunications industry. She recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of undersea telecommunications company TyCom Ltd. Prior to that she held a variety of senior legal and business positions with AT&T. Ms. Calandra is also on the Board of Advisors to Rutgers Business School.
Jack Lew served as Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 1998 to 2001, and was also a member of the National Security Council. His other Government posts included Deputy Director of OMB, Special Assistant to the President, and Assistant Director then Executive Director of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Mr. Lew is currently Executive Vice President and Professor of Public Administration at New York University.
Howard Safir was appointed by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to serve as New York City’s 39th Police Commissioner in 1996, and during his tenure he achieved a 38% reduction in major crimes, including a 44% drop in homicides. Prior to that he was New York City Fire Commissioner. Mr. Safir’s law enforcement background also includes service as Assistant Director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and Associate Director for Operations of the U.S. Marshals Service. He is currently Chairman and CEO of SafirRosetti, a leading security and investigation company serving clients both nationally and internationally.
“In these days of heightened attention to the way companies do business, the presence of strong, outside directors is more important than ever,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “Appointing highly qualified, independent outside directors is an IDT tradition. Each one of our new Winstar Directors exemplifies the crucial qualities of integrity and independence that we want on all our Boards.”
IDT CORPORATION
IDT, through its IDT Telecom subsidiary, is a leading facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. Through its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, IDT Telecom provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT Media is the IDT subsidiary principally responsible for the Company’s initiatives in media, new video technologies and print media.
Through its various subsidiaries, IDT has interests in several telecom, Internet-related and media companies. IDT recently acquired Winstar Communications. IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT.B and IDT. As of June 10, 2002, there were 53.4 million shares of Class B common stock (IDT.B) outstanding, and 24.9 million shares of common stock (IDT). Of these, 4.0 million shares of Class B common stock and 5.4 million shares of common stock were held by units of IDT Corporation.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and Assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, involving risks and uncertainties. These statements refer to our plans to implement our growth strategy, improve our financial performance, expand our infrastructure, develop new products and services, expand our customer base and enter international markets. The forward looking statements also include our expectations concerning factors affecting the markets for our products, including the demand for long distance telecommunications, and Internet access services. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results that we anticipate. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed in this release. In addition to the factors specifically noted in the forward looking statements, other important factors that could result in those differences include (a) general economic conditions in the telecommunications and Internet markets, including inflation,recession, interest rates, and other economic factors; (b) casualty to or other disruption of our facilities and operations; (c) those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10K for the period ended July 31, 2001 and (d) other factors that generally affect the business of telecommunications, Internet and other communications companies. We assume no obligation to update these forward looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward looking statements.
CONTACT:
Gil Nielsen
VP, IDT Corporate Communications
973-438-4002
Mary Jennings
Investor Relations
973-438-3124
