Back to press releasesNEWARK, N.J. – April 27, 2001 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Former United States Representative Jack Kemp (R-NY) to the Board of Directors of IDT Ventures, a new subsidiary of IDT overseeing the Company’s various technology ventures and development projects. IDT is a leading facilities-based multinational telecommunications carrier.
“It is an honor to welcome Jack Kemp to the Board of IDT Ventures,” said Howard Jonas, IDT’s Chairman and CEO. “Congressman Kemp has proven himself as one of the foremost political leaders and thinkers of our time. His vision and dedication to promoting the advancement of technology and economic growth will help empower and inspire IDT as it identifies and develops new technologies, products and services.”
Jack Kemp was born and raised in Los Angeles, attended LA public schools and graduated from Occidental College. He played for 13 years as a professional football quarterback and was captain of the San Diego Chargers from 1960-1962. He was also captain of the Buffalo Bills, the team he quarterbacked to the American Football League Championships in 1964 and 1965.
Congressman Kemp was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, representing the Buffalo area and western New York, a post he held for18 years. After his retirement from Congress in 1989, he served for four years as Secretary for Housing and Urban Development under President George H. Bush, and authored the Enterprise Zones legislation to encourage entrepreneurship and job creation in urban America. In 1995, Mr. Kemp served as Chairman of the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform and in August 1996 received the Republican Party’s nomination for Vice President.
Jack Kemp is currently co-director of Empower America, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy and advocacy organization he co-founded in 1993 with William Bennett and Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. He continues to campaign nationally for reform of taxation, Social Security and education, and dedicates his private enterprise and venture capital activities to enhancing the growth of leading technology and manufacturing companies.
“IDT is a dynamic, rapidly-growing company with a promising future in the telecommunications industry,” Congressman Kemp remarked. “I am looking forward to a very productive and challenging experience working with IDT Ventures.”
Jack Kemp is the most recent addition to a growing cadre of prominent business leaders and political figures joining IDT’s various Boards of Directors. On March 28th, former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) was appointed to the Board of IDT Telecom, a division encompassing the Company’s core telecommunications business. Paul Reichman, an internationally recognized entrepreneur and community leader, joined the IDT Board of Directors on March 23rd of this year. And on December 15th, 2000, IDT announced the appointment of former U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt (R-NV) to the Board of IDT Ventures.
“The outstanding individuals that IDT has added to its Boards of Directors in recent months is a clear indication of IDT’s commitment to becoming the world’s leading telecommunications company,” said Jim Courter, Vice Chairman and President of IDT. “It was a privilege working closely with Jack during our years together in Congress. His wealth of experience and keen insight will be invaluable as IDT moves forward in implementing its corporate reorganization and strategic vision.”
IDT CORPORATION
IDT is a leading facilities-based, multinational carrier that combines its position as an international telecommunications operator with its experience as an Internet service provider to provide 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, prepaid calling cards, Internet access and digital subscriber line (DSL) service. 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.
