Nov. 3, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, today announced that John H. Chapple, Ronald J. Kramer and William A. Roper, Jr. have been appointed to the company’s board of directors, effective November 2, 2009. The addition of these new directors brings the number of Leap board members to eight.
Mr. Chapple is president of Hawkeye Investments LLC, a privately owned equity firm investing primarily in telecommunications and real estate ventures, and is the former president, chief executive officer and chairman of Nextel Partners. Mr. Kramer is chief executive officer of Griffon Corporation, a diversified holding company, and was previously president of Wynn Resorts, Ltd. Mr. Roper is president of Roper Capital Company, a privately-owned equity firm and is the former president and chief executive officer of VeriSign, Inc.
“We are pleased with the addition of our new directors, all of whom bring a significant breadth of experience and strong operating and strategic perspectives that we believe will benefit the company and its shareholders,” said Doug Hutcheson, Leap’s president and chief executive officer and a member of Leap’s board of directors.
Mark Rachesky, the chairman of Leap’s board, added, “We look forward to working closely with the new directors as we continue to work to grow Leap’s business and build shareholder value.”
John H. Chapple:
Mr. Chapple, age 56, has served as president of Hawkeye Investments LLC, a privately-owned equity firm investing primarily in telecommunications and real estate ventures, since October 2006. Prior to forming Hawkeye, Mr. Chapple served as president, chief executive officer and chairman of Nextel Partners and its subsidiaries from August 1998 to June 2006, when the company was purchased by Sprint Communications. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Chapple was the president and chief operating officer of Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, owner and operator of the Vancouver Canucks as well as the General Motors Place sports arena in Vancouver, B.C. From 1988 to 1995, he served as executive vice president of operations of McCaw Cellular Communications, and subsequently AT&T Wireless Services following the merger of those companies. Mr. Chapple serves as a trustee and chairman of Syracuse University’s Board of Trustees and is a member of the boards of directors of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY), SeaMobile Enterprises and Telesphere Networks Ltd. Mr. Chapple holds a B.A. in political science from Syracuse University and completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program.
Ronald Kramer:
Mr.
