WMS provides world class roaming products, wireless voice and data communications, cell phone service at sea & passenger cellular service








Wireless Maritime Services, LLC (WMS) was founded in February of 2004. WMS is a joint venture of AT&T and MTN Satellite Communications. We provide world class roaming products, service, and support focused solely on the cruise line and ferry industry.

WMS aspires to have the leading talent in the Maritime Telecommunications Industry. We are built on a “talent culture” where only the best and brightest are part of our organization. “Business is built on brainpower” - this maxim is the bedrock of our business model.

 


WMS Key Leadership:

Leighton W. Carroll
Chairman

Mr. Carroll is a 14 year veteran in the wireless industry and has been the President and CEO of WMS since September of 2005. Mr. Carroll has previously been responsible for the Merger and Integration Team for AT&T Mobility, leading the $5.1 billion Dobson Cellular acquisition integration. Previously he ran Roaming and International Operations for AT&T Mobility. He also led the planning, architecture, and deployment of ~50 systems to 60,000 end-users for Cingular Wireless. While with AT&T Wireless, Mr. Carroll was responsible for all IT systems and services for 3 SBUs. While with Vanguard Cellular Systems, Mr. Carroll was accountable for all customer facing systems for the enterprise. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and has received executive education at Harvard Business School, MIT, IMD, Wharton Business School, and Wake Forest University.


Andy Hearn
President & CEO
Mr. Hearn, an 18 year veteran in the wireless industry, was named President and CEO of WMS in May of 2010. Mr. Hearn has held numerous senior level carrier positions including Sr. Vice President of Sales and Operations at TeleCorp, an AT&T affiliate. During his tenure at TeleCorp, he and the Key Management Team oversaw a $607MM cumulative
capital budget completing, on-time, a network build out of 1363 cell sites and 5 switching facilities. Prior to TeleCorp, Mr. Hearn was Vice President and General Manager for Alltel. His responsibilities included Distribution Development/Management, Marketing Strategy &
Implementation, Product Positioning & Rollout, Sales Organization Development, Operations Management, and full P&L responsibility. He is a graduate of the University of
South Carolina.

Mark Ralph
Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Ralph has 30 years of experience, with over 13 years in the wireless industry. He has direct experience leading large organizations involved in engineering, IT, systems, networks, customer services, and billing. With AT&T, Mr. Ralph utilized a strong operational background in managing the development of the customer services toolsets, roaming record internal clearinghouse, and Local Number Portability systems.  With Vanguard Cellular Systems, he was responsible for the interfaces to network systems and incorporating the billing of all new cellular products. Prior to his experiences in the wireless industry, Mr. Ralph was involved in the engineering of digital autopilots, infrared laser targeting systems, and NASA space shuttle launches. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, has a Masters degree in Systems Management, and executive education at MIT, Columbia Business School, and Wake Forest University.


Brian Threlkeld
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Threlkeld comes to the WMS leadership team with 12 years of wireless experience.  He began his wireless career in accounting, but most recently worked in the Roaming and International Services group at AT&T Mobility. While in Roaming and International services, Mr. Threlkeld worked closely with executive management as the subject-matter expert for roaming revenue and expense.  He was the go-to person for reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic analysis for various initiatives.  He managed a finance team that played a critical role in the systems and reporting integration associated with the Cingular / AT&T Wireless merger. Mr. Threlkeld and his team were involved in many key initiatives around wireless roaming solutions for improved coverage at reduced wholesale rates.  These initiatives led to tremendous cost savings and were essential to improving overall company margins.  Mr. Threlkeld is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and Oglethorpe University where he received his Economics and Accounting degrees.

Jim
McKenna
Vice
President of Customer
Support &
Product
Management

Jim joined WMS in 2008 and previously worked for 11 years in the cruise line and hospitality industries.  He has experience directly overseeing all the onboard revenue operations for two fleets of a major cruise line, including brand and product development, along with the revitalization and design of new ships.  During his tenure in the hotel industry, Jim was responsible for sales and revenue maximization by leading large sales teams.  He is also a trained Six Sigma Black Belt with experience in applying this process improvement methodology to customer support and client satisfaction.  Jim is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from the School of International & Public Affairs at Columbia University, and also holds an MBA in Finance from the Columbia Business School.

Tony Patino
Vice President of Engineering and Technical Operations

Mr. Patino is a 17 year telecom professional, spending the last 12 years in the wireless industry with both Major wireless carriers and Tier 1 infrastructure and services providers. He joined WMS in 2006 to assume complete responsibility over technology roadmap, planning & development, commercial network operations and Tier II & Tier III network support, network performance, and business continuity/disaster recovery. He has been involved in a leadership role with the design, build-out, launch, FOA (first office application), vendor management and operations of both GSM and CDMA wireless networks in major metropolitan areas for major wireless carriers; and managed service providers.

Prior to joining WMS, Tony was an Account Director for a Tier 1 vendor directly involved the business development, sale and rollout of NGN GSM softswitches to a Tier 1 carrier in the United States. Mr. Patino was also responsible for the day to day operation of a Managed Service Delivery team providing services to over 40 customers. He also spent several years working at various levels with wireless carriers starting as a Network Engineer early in his career and achieving Regional Manager, launching over 2000 cell sites and the supporting central office transport and switching infrastructure into commercial service.

Mr. Patino holds a Master’s degree in Telecommunications. He lives in Pembroke Pines, FL with his wife and their two children.


Stuart Kull
Vice President of European Operations

Mr. Kull has been working in the cellular telecommunications industry since starting as a civil project manager with Western Wireless International in the Ivory Coast in 1999. As part of the integrated WMS organization, Stuart is a key leader in the significant expansion of the joint venture into the European theatre. As V.P. of European Operations for SeaMobile based in Paris, Stuart will continue daily interaction with European clients to build and maintain the strong relationships he has developed over the past few years.

Before joining SeaMobile, Stuart was the National Manager for Quality and Acceptance on the record breaking Ericsson WCDMA rollout. He delivered 1,473 of the over 6,000 sites under ‘Project Jersey’ to Telstra Australia.

Stuart holds an MBA from Monash University in Melbourne, specializing in strategic management. He is also a Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA).


Clive Poole
Director of Sales
Dr Clive Poole is responsible for WMS sales and business development activities in Europe and Asia.
Dr. Poole has more than 25 years experience in the electronics and telecommunications
industries in both the UK and the Far East, with broad experience of product design,
manufacturing and sales within a demanding multi-cultural environment. He has been
responsible for the development and launch of numerous successful electronic products and has held top management positions in several Asian high tech companies, including as CEO of a paging systems manufacturer in Hong Kong and as Managing Director of a public listed manufacturing company in Thailand.
Before joining WMS, Dr. Poole was responsible for the conception and successful launch of Navitas Telecom, the maritime GSM arm of Jersey Telecom, and was responsible for sales and business development for Navitas from 2005 till 2009.
Dr. Poole has a Masters degree and a PhD in Electronic Engineering from the University of
Manchester, England, and an MBA from the Open University, and has lectured in electronics,
telecommunications and business strategy at post-graduate level.

Beth Negash
Director of Project Management & Shipboard Operations

Beth joined the WMS leadership team and has been heading up the Project Management Office since March 2006. She earned her Master of Project Management degree from Devry Institute’s Keller Graduate School of Management in 2002. Beth is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). She has played a key role in the Project Management group of Qtera (later acquired by Nortel Networks) as a Project Manager for a $25 million trial implementation of the Optera Long Haul product. Having started her career in the early 90’s at AT&T and being awarded promotions in various capacities that increased the size and scope of her responsibilities, Beth has worked at several national and global organizations in the telecommunications and management consulting industries. As a Senior Contracts Analyst at Newbridge Networks (now Alcatel) Beth was responsible for multimillion dollar projects of companies such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, Bank of America, and Bloomberg. In 2002 Beth founded and still oversees Project Nehemiah, Inc., a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that provides professional and educational partnerships with schools in Ethiopia.


   

 


Headquarters:
3088 N. Commerce Parkway • Miramar, FL 33025

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