IDT Corporation Announces Management Changes
November 29 2013 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Howard Jonas to Step Down
as CEO and remain as Chairman Samuel Jonas Named Successor
CEO
IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT), a global provider of
telecommunications and payment services, today announced that
Howard Jonas, the Company’s founder, Chairman and CEO, will step
down as Chief Executive Officer upon the expiration of his current
employment agreement on December 31, 2013. IDT’s Board of Directors
has named IDT’s Chief Operating Officer, Samuel ‘Shmuel’ Jonas, to
be CEO. Howard Jonas will continue to remain actively involved in
the Company in his capacity as Chairman.
Howard Jonas, who was IDT’s first CEO after founding the Company
in 1990, has most recently served in that capacity since October
2008. During this tenure, Mr. Jonas led the effort that returned
IDT’s core telecom business to profitability. IDT has been steadily
profitable in recent years and pays a regular quarterly
dividend.
As part of the turn-around effort carried out during his tenure
as CEO, Mr. Jonas fundamentally re-shaped IDT. He sold or shut down
many non-core businesses and spun-off several others to IDT
stockholders. The spun-off companies, CTM Media (CTMMA, CTMMB),
Genie Energy (NYSE: GNE, GNEPRA) and Straight Path Communications
Inc. (NYSE MKT: STRP), all continue to do very well. The combined
market caps of IDT and these three public companies increased by
approximately $900 million during Mr. Jonas’ tenure as Chairman and
CEO of IDT.
“I am deeply grateful to our employees and loyal stockholders
for persevering with me through some very difficult times to
rebuild IDT. I’ve been honored and privileged to work with many
wonderful colleagues, and they are largely responsible for the
substantial progress we have made,” said Mr. Jonas.
“We have restored IDT to profitability and built a solid
foundation for future growth. Looking ahead, we are blessed with
abundant opportunities and capable management to pursue them. In my
capacity as Chairman, I am looking forward to continuing to
collaborate with the Board and with Shmuel and his management team
and to provide them with strategic guidance and direction,” he
concluded.
Howard Jonas’ successor as CEO of IDT, Shmuel Jonas, has served
as IDT’s COO since June 2010. In that capacity, he has been
actively involved in the management of the Company’s day-to-day
operations. Shmuel Jonas joined the Company in June 2008 and has
served as the Company’s Vice President of Operations where he
helped to plan and implement the Company’s turn-around. His cost
cutting initiatives and conservative approach to investment in
growth opportunities have been key drivers to the Company’s
improved bottom line performance and the renewed strength of its
balance sheet.
“I am very pleased with IDT’s performance to date and our
prospects going forward,” said Shmuel Jonas. “I am excited and
nervous, but am very much looking forward to taking on this new and
challenging role. Strategically, we will continue investing
appropriately in the long term growth of our core telecom and
payments businesses. We will also continue helping Zedge and Fabrix
unlock their huge potential value. Consistent with this approach,
we intend to generate current and long-term value for our
stockholders through improved profitability, quarterly dividends,
spin-offs and other monetization events. I am taking on this new
and challenging role under the Board’s and my father’s continued
guidance and am supported by an outstanding management team.”
About IDT Corporation:
IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT), through its IDT Telecom division,
provides retail telecommunications and payment services to help
immigrants and the under-banked to conveniently and inexpensively
communicate and share resources around the world. IDT Telecom’s
wholesale business is a leading global carrier of international
long distance voice calls. IDT also holds majority interests in two
early-stage technology companies focused on high growth industries:
Zedge (www.zedge.net), a mobile content discovery and acquisition
platform, includes one of the most popular Apps for Android and
iOS; Fabrix Systems (www.fabrixsystems.com), a cloud based scale
out storage and computing platform, provides a scalable solution
optimized for media and big data processing and delivery. For more
information, visit www.idt.net.
Investor RelationsIDT CorporationBill Ulrey,
973-438-3838invest@idt.net
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