CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-- June 27, 2003 - Covista Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ symbol: CVST - news), announced today that it has promoted Frank J. Pazera to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective July 1, 2003. Frank joined Covista as the Corporate Controller in December 2002 and he will replace Thomas P. Gunning who will remain with Covista as Corporate Secretary and Treasurer.
Prior to joining Covista, Mr. Pazera held a variety of Executive Financial Management positions at Company's that include AirGate P CS, Inc., a publicly traded wireless services company and Network One, a privately held regional Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, in addition to Turner Broadcasting, MCI Telecommunications and Arthur Andersen & Company. He received his MBA in Finance from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in Atlanta and his BBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
John Leach, President and Chief Executive Officer of Covista said, ''First, I would like to note that we are extremely fortunate to have Mr. Gunning continue his service with Covista. We have all benefited tremendously from his tireless years of commitment and dedication to the Company.'' Leach continued, ''We are equally pleased that Frank has proven his ability to assume this critical role with Covista. His previous industry experience, coupled with his talents in managing fast-growing companies will undoubtedly enhance our leadership team.''
About Covista:
Covista is a facilities-based telecommunications services provider with a substantial customer base in the residential and commercial market segments. Its products and services include a broad range of voice, data and Internet solutions, including local, long distance and toll-free services, calling cards, frame relay, Internet access, VPN, directory assistance and teleconferencing services. Covista owns and operates several switches in locations throughout the United States. Covista headquarters are located in Chattanooga where it also maintains a Network Operations, call center and information technology facilities to monitor its network and coordinate various services. For information on becoming a Covista c ustomer, please telephone 800-805-1000 or visit the Company's website at www.covista.com.
Certain matters discussed in this release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as the Registrant "believes", "anticipates", "expects", or words of similar import. Similarly, statements which describe the Registrant's future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are described in close proximity to such statements and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated as of the date of this Report. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements.
Covista Communications, Inc.
Thomas Gunning, Tel: 973/812-1100, Fax: 973/237-6414
E-mail: tgunning@covista.com