Back to press releasesNEWARK, N.J. – September 17, 2001 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.B) is pleased to announce the appointment of William S. Cohen, former U. S. Secretary of Defense and three-term Senator from Maine, to the Board of Directors of IDT Telecom, the IDT subsidiary responsible for the Company’s domestic and international long distance, calling card, carrier services, and other telecom businesses.
“I’m honored to welcome William Cohen to the Board of Directors of IDT Telecom,” said Howard Jonas, IDT’s Chairman. “As Secretary of Defense in a Democratic Administration and as a Republican Senator from Maine, Bill Cohen served with skill and dedication. He has proven himself to be an exceptional manager first in government and now in the private sector as head of his own consulting firm.”
Secretary Cohen is currently Chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group, a strategic business consulting firm in Washington, D. C. The Cohen Group helps multinational clients from all sectors of the economy develop and implement strategic plans, identify business opportunities, manage risks, and overcome problems in quickly changing markets worldwide.
“It’s a special privilege to join the Board of such a forward-looking company,” said Cohen. “Telecom is an indispensable part of business everywhere in the world, and IDT is a recognized leader in all aspects of telecommunications.”
William S. Cohen was first elected to public office in 1971, when he became Mayor of Bangor, Maine. Two years later he was elected to his first of three terms in the U. S. House of Representatives, and then served three terms in the U. S. Senate. He became Secretary of Defense in 1997, a position he held for four years.
“Bill Cohen has a well-deserved reputation as an independent-thinking, results-oriented legislator and administrator,” said Jim Courter, Vice Chairman and CEO of IDT. “His knowledge and understanding of how to use the latest technology to solve business and other problems represents a valuable resource to IDT Telecom.”
IDT CORPORATION
IDT is a leading facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its wholesale and retail customers worldwide.
Through its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, IDT provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. The Company’s Ventures division is developing several innovative telecom and Internet related businesses. Through its IDT Investments subsidiary, IDT has equity interests in several telecom and Internet-related companies.
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.
