Executive Leadership

Steve Canton, President & CEO
scanton@icore.com
Steve Canton has over 20 years experience in executive and corporate management, with particular emphasis on start-up and restructuring of high-performance telecommunications and technology companies. His expertise is in the rehabilitation of fundamentally sound companies with under-managed assets or a lack of strategic focus.

From 1999 to present, Steve consults independently with leading private equity funds on operations of portfolio companies in the telecommunications, technology and software companies industries. In early 2001 Steve founded, and presently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iCore Advisory Services, LLC. iCore advises senior management of and leading investors in technology, software, communications and information services companies in the execution of sales, marketing, operations and corporate finance strategies.

On the advisory services side of the business, iCore’s services produce significant, sustainable growth in revenue and productivity, and improved liquidity for its clients. Clients of iCore have achieved revenue growth rates of as much as 700% in the course of a 90-day iCore engagement. In the capital advisory business, iCore assists clients in identifying sources of equity and debt capital. In one recent transaction, iCore arranged a $30,000,000 senior credit facility for an integrated communications provider in the Midwest.

From 1996 – 1999 following the acquisition of Allnet by Frontier, Steve founded and served as President of the Telco Communications Commercial Division. Telco was a resale provider of integrated voice and data services to businesses. In that position, Steve assembled an executive team that managed over 700 employees, and served over 25,000 business customers through 21 offices in the United States. He directly managed six operating divisions, including Sales, Acquisition Marketing, Customer Services, Finance & Administration, Human Resources and Legal Affairs. Under Steve’s leadership, the division grew from $2.6 million in revenues in 1996 to $270 million in the second full calendar year of operations – over a 100-fold increase. Telco completed an IPO in 1996, with a valuation fueled by the commercial divisions revenues.

Excel Communications acquired Telco for $1.2 billion in 1997, and Steve joined the Excel Board of Directors, he continued as the senior executive of the commercial division. Teleglobe Communications acquired Excel in 1999, Teleglobe was a leading provider of global connectivity services to carriers, Internet service providers, business customers and content providers worldwide. Steve was named Chief Executive Officer of Teleglobe Business Solutions. Steve retired from Teleglobe upon its acquisition by Bell Canada (NYSE:BCE).

From 1989-1995, Steve served as Vice President of Sales for Allnet Communications. Steve was a member of an executive management team that was tasked with restructuring the company in the spring of 1989, when its valuation had fallen from approximately $400 million to an estimated value of $50 million. Steve and the other members of the senior management team led Allnet through several years of sustained, internally generated revenue growth. Frontier Communications acquired Allnet in 1995 for $2.1 billion.

Steve attended Regis College in Denver, Colorado, and completed Executive Management programs in Finance, Sales and Marketing at the University of Michigan Business School.

Norman J. Harrison, Executive Vice President
nharrison@icore.com
Mr. Harrison, co-founder of iCore Advisory Services, L.L.C., has more than 16 years of experience in corporate transactional work in the merchant banking/private equity business, the investment banking industry, and the legal profession.

• Investment and merchant banking experience with Stephens Group, BT Alex. Brown and Morgan Stanley & Co.
• Public and private equity and debt offerings.
• Principal investment transactions.
• Mergers & acquisitions; recapitalizations.
• International business development -- Europe and Asia.
• Managing Director, DBM Group Inc., a Washington-based private equity advisory firm with communications & media focus.
• Corporate transactional and investigative work at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for telecommunications, technology, consumer products and aerospace/defense industry clients.

Mr. Norman received B.S. and J.D. degrees with honors from Georgetown University and completed advanced studies in finance and international business policy at Oxford University.

Dennis J. Roberts, Affiliate
droberts@icore.com
Dennis Roberts is a co-founder and principal of The McLean Group. Mr. Roberts has more than 35 years' accounting and investment-banking experience involving a multitude of transactions across a wide variety of industries and markets.

Mr. Roberts previously was the founder, chairman and CEO of a publicly-held regional holding company from 1984 to 1992. Prior to that he was founder and senior partner of a large Washington, DC-area accounting firm that he sold to his partners in 1987. While a practicing Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Roberts focused on M&A, commercial finance, and similar transactions. Until 1995, Mr. Roberts was the managing partner for the Washington, DC, regional office of Matrix Capital Markets Group, a regional investment bank specializing in M&A representation and corporate finance.

Mr. Roberts is a graduate of Benjamin Franklin University (later merged into The George Washington University), a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is an enrolled Federal Tax Accountant. He teaches, lectures, and writes on M&A, business valuation, and corporate finance to national audiences. He is a National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) registered representative and firm principal (Series 7,63,24).

Joseph Nader, Affiliate
jnader@icore.com
Mr. Nader has more than 20 years of sales, marketing and business development for telecommunication companies. Served in sales for Business Telecom, Inc., a $400 million company, Cable & Wireless USA, Inc., Sprint and MCI.

• Managed robust sales locations in five states, increased revenue 15% - 20% over two years.
• Managed increased voice, data and Internet revenues for Southern, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. Managed more than 375 sales executives, managers, directors, account developers and technical support.
• Managed marketing voice and data services throughout the New York, New Jersey. Connecticut and New England territories
• Successfully managed the top sales team nationwide.

Mr. Nader received a B.A. degree from Mercy College.

Jerry Golden, Affiliate
jgolden@icore.com
Mr. Golden has more than 17 years of experience with strategic and tactical sales within telecommunications companies. Past employment includes, Mission Critical Sales Corporation, U.S. Datacenters, Teleglobe Communications, Allnet Communications and Cable & Wireless.

• Full development of initial start up business plan.
• All venture capital and fund raising activities.
• Strategic and tactical outsourcing plan.
• Made strategic change in the company’s direction in-order to increase revenue without increasing capital expense.
• Went from co-location strategy to managed service provider strategy increasing total possible revenue within the Datacenter from eighty six million dollars to five hundred and forty million dollars.
• Developed tactical sales plan to penetrate managed service market.
• Developed compensation plan and alternate channel agreements.
• Built and managed technology partner program, elite partner program and business development efforts.
• Built and managed a sales process and interdepartmental flow charts to integrate the sales process, sales force automation, engagement process and customer support process.
• Built and managed key measurements and reporting process which allowed all departments to accurately plan and forecast growth.

Richard Lee, Affiliate
rlee@icore.com
Mr. Lee has more than seven years as Vice President of Sales and Vice President of Sales Training within telecommunications companies. Past employment includes, Yellowbrix, Telco Communications, Allnet Communications and Frontier Communications.

• Lead a leading technology company providing internet content, eCommerce capabilities and software solutions.
• Built a sales team from the ground floor in the western territory for a major telecommunications company.
• Managed and hired sales personnel (national account, major account and entry level), sales support personnel, administration and training personnel. Responsible for seven sales offices.
• Built and managed a sales team in the west coast for a major telecommunications company. Responsible for 11 sales offices in the western region.
• Reduced the turnover rate by 30% during the period after implementing training programs on coaching and behavior based management.

Jon Rochetti, Affiliate
jrochetti@icore.com
Jon Rochetti is a seasoned marketing professional with over fifteen years of increased responsibility in strategic and tactical marketing leadership. He is experienced in fast-paced, high-growth and highly competitive service provider industries including telecom, high-tech and web-based transactional services.

During the past ten years he was in a senior role providing marketing management, cost and budget management and responsive product development capabilities designed to achieve financial and market position goals. Jon has held Vice President of Marketing positions at USLD, Telco Communications, Teleglobe and Arbinet.

Mr. Rochetti received an MBA degree from Loyola University in Chicago.

Linda Collins, Affiliate
lcollins@icore.com
Ms. Collins has more than 18 years of successful Telecom management experience in sales, marketing and customer operations that has included established industry leaders. Annual revenue quotas for the last three positions:

• Teleglobe Business Solutions, $192 million.
• National Tel/Intermedia Communications, $120 million.
• Worldcom, $75.6 million.

Ms. Collins has managed sales offices and sales regions for seven of the ten years at Cable and Wireless. Met or exceeded sales quota virtually ever month. As the District Sales Manager, the office finished in first place in a national sales contest.

Ann Wilson, Affiliate
awilson@icore.com
Ms. Wilson works closely with iCore’s leadership to enhance client relationships, strategically position the company with relevant audiences, and assist in the development and implementation of marketing plans and business development initiatives. She brings more than 12 years of marketing experience in the legal field.
Throughout her career in the legal industry, she has planned, managed and executed marketing activities for law firms ranging from 110 to more than 1,100 lawyers, with as many as 14 offices. Her areas of expertise include cultivating client relations; developing marketing strategies; implementing marketing training programs; directing the creation and production of marketing communications pieces such as brochures, ads and responses to requests for proposals; and researching legal trends and business development opportunities.

She was been involved with the Legal Marketing Association, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. She is a member of the American Marketing Association.

Ms. Wilson has won a number of awards for her accomplishment in the legal marketing industry. She has presented to numerous audiences, including law firm partners, legal administrators and accounting executives. She has also published articles in related industry publications.

Robyn M. Sachs, Affiliate
rsachs@icore.com
Robyn M. Sachs is president and CEO of RMR & Associates, a leading marketing, advertising and public relations firm known for its highly innovative campaigns focusing on measurable results. Sachs concentrates on servicing primary accounts, new business development, market development, and strategy for new accounts. In 1998 Sachs and the agency were awarded the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award, sponsored by Ernst & Young. More recently, Sachs and the agency were awarded the 1999 "MC Icon Award" for best branding campaign in the country for their work with PSINet. RMR's current capitalized billings are $24.7 million and the agency has grown 600% since Sachs became president in 1987. That impressive growth led PR Week, a leading industry publication, to name RMR among the top 50 PR Agencies in the United States and #1 in Maryland. Leveraging the economic downturn, Robyn recently became involved in the latest megatrend Interbiz – the referral based buying network.

Sachs is a leading businesswoman in the Washington Metropolitan area. In 1997, she was awarded WJLA's Women of the Year award, sponsored by Toyota. Sachs currently serves on the board of the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO), a non-profit organization for business owners under the age of 40, with companies over one million dollars. The Washington Business Journal has included RMR in its listing of Washington's largest women-owned businesses since 1990 and has recognized the agency as one of the Top 25 Advertising Agencies and Top 25 Public Relations Firms annually since 1991. RMR also won an ADDY Award for Best Commercial Web Site by the Ad Club of Washington, D.C. in 1997. Sachs was elected and served as a Maryland Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995. As a delegate, she presented small business issues directly to Congress at the national conference and received a Governor's Citation from the Honorable Parris Glendening.

Sachs attended the University of Maryland, earning a bachelor's degree in advertising design, with a minor in marketing. She is active in many professional organizations including serving as Chair of the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) Emerging Business Network, and Co-Chair of the Arthritis Foundation's Oscar Night America. She is also a member of the High Tech Council of Maryland (HTCM), the Chambers of Commerce for both Montgomery County and Fairfax County, the Business Professional Advertising Association, the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the National Investor Relations Institute.