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Windstream CEO and executives

Executive Summary. Based on our data team's research, Anthony Thomas is the Windstream's CEO. Windstream has 11,080 employees, of which 26 are in a leadership position.
Here are further demographic highlights of the leadership team:
  • The Windstream executive team is 8% female and 92% male.
  • 70% of the management team is White.
  • 7% of Windstream management is Hispanic or Latino.
  • 11% of the management team is Black or African American.
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Name & TitleBio
Anthony Thomas

President & Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Thomas's LinkedIn

Tony Thomas is president and chief executive officer of Windstream. He was appointed to the position in December 2014. Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience in the communications industry. He was instrumental in the development of Windstream’s REIT spinoff and served as president of real estate investment trust operations at Windstream from October to December 2014.

Thomas served as the chief financial officer for Windstream from August 2009 through September 2014. During his five-year tenure as CFO, Thomas played an integral role in Windstream's expansion by completing seven acquisitions totaling more than $5.6 billion in transaction value. In addition, Thomas has deep capital market expertise, having led almost $10 billion in debt transactions.

Thomas joined Windstream as controller following the spinoff from Alltel Corp. He held a variety of financial and operational leadership roles at Alltel after joining the company when it merged with 360 Communications in 1998. Before entering the communications industry, he was with Ernst & Young in the telecom practice. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Wake Forest University and a bachelor's degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois.

Robert E. Gunderman

Chief Financial Officer

Ron “Buddy” Bayer

Chief Network Officer

Ron Buddy Bayer is a Chief Network Officer at Windstream.

Mary Michaels

Chief Human Resources Officer

Mary Michaels's LinkedIn

Mary Michaels is chief human resources officer at Windstream. She oversees all human resource functions, including compensation, benefits, learning and development, recruiting, employee relations, talent development and employee engagement.

Michaels was most recently Windstream’s vice president of compensation and benefits, a position she had held since November 2016. Previously she served as director of investor relations and capital markets and then vice president of investor relations and assistant treasurer for the company. Before that, she served in various finance positions at Alltel Wireless.

Michaels holds a master’s degree in business administration and finance from Webster University and a bachelor’s degree in business from Tulane University. She is an avid sailor.

Michael Flannery

Chief Marketing Officer

Richard Martin

Head of Enterprise Operations & Access

Stephen Farkouh

Chief Information Officer

Stephen Farkouh's LinkedIn

Art Nichols

Vice President - Architecture & Technology

David Plakosh

VP of R&D / CTO - Allworx

Drew Smith

Senior Vice President, Financial Planning and Treasurer

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Windstream board members

Name & TitleBio
Anthony Thomas

President & Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Thomas's LinkedIn

Tony Thomas is president and chief executive officer of Windstream. He was appointed to the position in December 2014. Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience in the communications industry. He was instrumental in the development of Windstream’s REIT spinoff and served as president of real estate investment trust operations at Windstream from October to December 2014.

Thomas served as the chief financial officer for Windstream from August 2009 through September 2014. During his five-year tenure as CFO, Thomas played an integral role in Windstream's expansion by completing seven acquisitions totaling more than $5.6 billion in transaction value. In addition, Thomas has deep capital market expertise, having led almost $10 billion in debt transactions.

Thomas joined Windstream as controller following the spinoff from Alltel Corp. He held a variety of financial and operational leadership roles at Alltel after joining the company when it merged with 360 Communications in 1998. Before entering the communications industry, he was with Ernst & Young in the telecom practice. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Wake Forest University and a bachelor's degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois.

Ron “Buddy” Bayer

Chief Network Officer

Ron Buddy Bayer is a Chief Network Officer at Windstream.

Bill Laperch

Board Member

Milwood Hobbs

Board Member

Paul Sunu

Board Member

Rob Shanahan

Board Member

Windstream leadership demographics

Windstream gender distribution in management team

  • The Windstream executive team is 8% female and 92% male.
  • Windstream is 42% female and 58% male company-wide.
Male
Male
92%
Company-wide: 58%
Female
Female
8%
Company-wide: 42%

Windstream executives by race

Management Team:
  • The most common ethnicity among Windstream executive officers is White.
  • 70% of the management team is White.
  • 11% of Windstream's management is Black or African American.
  • 8% of the management team is Asian.
Company-wide:
  • White is the most common ethnicity company-wide.
  • 64% of employees are White.
  • 15% of employees are Black or African American.
  • 11% of employees are Hispanic or Latino.
  • Management team
  • General
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Unknown
White
Black or African American
Asian
Hispanic or Latino

Windstream jobs nearby

Windstream executives FAQs

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Windstream, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Windstream. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Windstream. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Windstream. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Windstream and its employees or that of Zippia.

Windstream may also be known as or be related to WINDSTREAM CORP, Windstream, Windstream Holdings Inc and Windstream Holdings, Inc.