Guam – GTA TeleGuam today [Thursday] announced the appointment of Andrew Gayle to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer as Company President and CEO Dan Moffat disclosed plans to resign over stateside family health concerns.
“GTA service levels and innovative offerings will only get better with our new owners, the operations team and systems that are in place now”
Gayle assumes the day-to-day leadership role at GTA TeleGuam ahead of Moffat’s resignation effective Sept. 12. Moffat is leaving the island so he can focus on dealing with pressing health issues involving his immediate family in California. He will assist in the leadership transition.
A native of Guam, Gayle joined GTA TeleGuam in June 2005 and has served as executive vice president of wireless and digital television as well as product development and management. He led the company’s launches of GSM wireless network in 2006, digital television in 2008 and 3G wireless network in 2009.
“Andrew has earned respect and confidence among the GTA TeleGuam board of directors, new owners, his peers and myself,” Moffat said. “GTA TeleGuam selected Andrew because of his experience and product knowledge as well as his excellent managerial, technical and leadership capabilities.
“I am not happy with the timing of my departure but pressing family circumstances necessitate that I leave and help care for my family,” Moffat said. “This was one of the most difficult decisions in my career because my wife Jane and I fell in love with Guam and GTA TeleGuam now is successfully positioned to enter a new era of growth with supportive new owners.”
GTA TeleGuam last month successfully completed its ownership transfer from Shamrock Capital Advisors to funds served by Advantage Partners LLP, a global private equity investment firm based in Tokyo.
“Dan was instrumental in the successful transfer of ownership and transition process,” said Richard L. Folsom, representative partner at Advantage Partners.
“Dan Moffat leaves the company with a strong management team that has worked tirelessly to promote competition and innovation that have benefited all Guam consumers,” Folsom said. “We regret Dan’s unexpected departure and wish him and his family well.”
GTA TeleGuam will assess candidates for a president and CEO successor. No timeline has been established for a search.
“GTA TeleGuam has a seasoned local executive team with many talented individuals who truly care about delivering the best possible service to our customers,” said new COO Andrew Gayle. “They have a deep understanding of telecommunications and the local Guam operating environment and they are very talented in their respective areas of expertise. I am proud to be a part of this team.
“Customers who have been here more than five years tell us that services have improved and overall prices have dropped since GTA TeleGuam began offering new services and competing in other market segments. This is true for phone, TV, wireless and Internet services,” Gayle said.
“GTA service levels and innovative offerings will only get better with our new owners, the operations team and systems that are in place now,” Gayle said.
Moffat joined GTA TeleGuam in January 2007, two years after GovGuam privatized the company and freed it to compete and introduce news services such as wireless and digital television. Prior to joining GTA TeleGuam, Moffat was executive vice president of EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK) and president of New Edge Networks, which he co-founded and later sold to EarthLink in 2005.
Gayle graduated from George Washington High School in Mangilao and has a bachelor’s degree in computer, electrical and systems engineering from Harvard University. He and his wife, Cait, have three children and reside in Tamuning.
About GTA TeleGuam
GTA TeleGuam provides complete communications services on Guam. These include local and long-distance telephone service, wireless, DSL Internet access, advanced digital television, or IPTV, and carrier-class data circuits. The company also operates a data center on Guam for offering business data storage and managed wide area networking. Based in Tamuning, Guam, GTA TeleGuam is privately owned and locally managed. Funds served by Advantage Partners LLP, a Japan-based leading service provider to private equity funds investing in Japan and other global markets, provide financial backing to GTA TeleGuam. The company’s website is www.gta.net. Phone: 1-671-644-4482.
