LATEST NEWS

September 22, 2005
Veteran Telecom Marketing Executive Joan Kratz Joins Hawaiian Telcom and Corporate Communications Executive Dan Smith Returns to Hawaii

HONOLULU- Joan Kratz has been named chief marketing officer of Hawaiian Telcom, completing a national search for the final slot on the company’s senior executive team, announced Michael Ruley, Hawaiian Telcom’s chief executive officer.

Joan has more than 20 years of telecommunications marketing and sales experience at the regional and national levels with such notable telecom leaders as BellSouth Corporation, Sprint Communications, and MCI Communications Corporation. Prior to joining Hawaiian Telcom, Joan had been with BellSouth since 1997, most recently as vice president – business marketing, where she contributed to strategic planning and investment priorities for the company.

At BellSouth International, she served as vice president – fixed markets where she developed and enhanced programs in Venezuela, Denmark, Colombia and Israel.  In addition, she served as senior director – complex business markets and director – data services marketing for BellSouth Long Distance.  At Sprint, Joan served as national sales and support manager – multi-media, group manager – data market group, and various product manager roles. Joan earned a bachelor of science degree in mass media management from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an MBA from Cole's School of Business - Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Daniel Smith, who previously worked for GTE HawaiianTel, has returned to the Islands and joined Hawaiian Telcom as vice president – corporate communications.

Smith has 15 years of corporate communications experience, working for two Fortune 500 companies, GTE Corporation and Texas Instruments. For the past five years, Smith served as director – executive communications with Dallas-based Texas Instruments, the world’s third-largest semiconductor company and the leading supplier of wireless and high-speed Internet customer equipment semiconductor solutions.  At Texas Instruments, he contributed to international reputation management, provided strategic communications counsel to the chairman, CEO and president and wrote financial communications.

He served in various positions with GTE from 1990 to 1999, serving in media relations and executive communications management positions. From 1996 to 1998, he was director – public affairs and communications with GTE Hawaiian Tel, overseeing media relations, employee communications, community relations and executive communications statewide.

Smith also has nearly six years of journalism experience, having served as an editor or reporter for The Orange County Register in Santa Ana, California; The San Marcos News in San Marcos, Texas; and The Temple Daily Telegram in Temple, Texas.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a secondary concentration in English and music from Baylor University, Waco, Texas.

About Hawaiian Telcom
Hawaiian Telcom is the state’s leading telecommunications provider, offering a wide spectrum of telecommunications products and services, which include local and long distance service, high-speed Internet, wireless services, and print directory and Internet directory services.