It has been confirmed today that Michael Capellas has been officially appointed chairman and chief executive officer of bankrupt telecommunications provider WorldCom Inc.
Having just left his position as president of computer maker Hewlett-Packard, Capellas is replacing interim CEO John Sidgmore. His first task will be to salvage the No. 2 US long-distance telephone giant and one of the biggest movers of internet traffic from extreme financial difficulty.
WorldCom filed for the biggest bankruptcy in US history in July after revealing massive accounting problems and is in debt to the tune of some US$40bn.
Capellas was the chief executive of Compaq Computer Corp before it was acquired by rival computer giant Hewlett-Packard last year. He then became president of the merged company.
By Linda Gillett
