Dex One, the struggling yellow pages publisher that is expanding into new media and repositioning itself in the marketplace, has named an executive from outside the industry to lead it forward.
Alfred T. Mockett, who has more than three decades of experience at telecommunications and technology companies, on Tuesday was named CEO of the Cary company.
"We have brought in a highly qualified chief executive officer [who] has a successful track record in transforming companies," Dex spokesman Tyler Gronbach said.
Mockett took charge of "a couple of companies that were not performing at their potential and put them in a very strong operating position," Gronbach added. "This is certainly the expectation here at Dex One. We are not performing as well as we should be, and the board was looking to bring in some top-flight management that can kind of turn things around and get us headed in the right direction."
Mockett, 61, was the CEO of Motive, a provider of software for telecommunications companies, from 2006 to 2008, which is when the Austin, Texas, company was acquired by Alcatel-Lucent for $68 million. He also is the former CEO of American Management Services, a software and consulting firm in Fairfax, Va.. He held a variety of senior management positions during a decadelong career at BT Group, formerly British Telecom, and is a former president of information technology company Memorex Telex.
Since leaving Motive, the British native had been chairman and CEO of Corinthian Capital, a Virginia firm that invests in telecommunications projects such as the rollout of broadband services for rural and inner-city customers.
When Mockett was named CEO of American Management in 2001, the company's contracts were typically worth less than $30 million. After he urged employees to think big, the company won some of its largest contracts ever, including a $400 million Defense Department contract, according to The Washington Post. American Management was sold to a Canadian company, CGI Group, for $858 million in 2004.
Mockett's tenure at BT included about a year overseeing the company's yellow pages business.
"It's not that he would be unfamiliar, then, with the challenges of the business," said Jonathan Levine, vice president at Jefferies & Co.
Mockett, who wasn't available for comment, joins the company Monday.
He succeeds David Swanson, whose departure in May was mutually agreed upon by the board of directors and the longtime CEO. Swanson transformed Dex One into a yellow pages industry powerhouse but also was responsible for the missteps that led it into bankruptcy.
Dex, which publishes yellow pages directories in 28states, emerged from bankruptcy in January, upon which it changed its name from R.H. Donnelley. The company has 3,400 employees, including about 450 in the Triangle.
The company's reorganization in bankruptcy enabled it to eliminate more than $6 billion in debt and reduced its annual interest payments by about $500 million, but the company's revenue problems remain. Revenue in the second quarter fell 20 percent to $451.8 million on an adjusted basis while ad sales, a leading indicator of future revenue, declined 13.4 percent.
Investors have been wary. After Dex's share price peaked at more than $34 shortly after the company emerged from bankruptcy, shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value. Shares closed Tuesday at $9.37, down 38 cents.
No sale in the offing
Although Motive and American Management were sold during Mockett's watch, Gronbach said he wasn't brought in to put Dex up for sale
"His appointment is all about driving better performance and putting the company in a stronger operating position," said Gronbach, who added that Mockett has agreed to "a multiyear contract."
At any rate, in Levine's opinion, Dex isn't a likely acquisition candidate in the near-term.
Companies outside the yellow pages industry aren't really interested in what is "a declining business," Levine said, and only one yellow pages publisher - AT&T - has the wherewithal to acquire Dex. AT&T hasn't shown any interest in expanding its yellow pages business.
With advertisers shifting their spending away from traditional media, Dex is positioning itself as a marketing services company. It has been steadily expanding beyond its print directories to other media, including mobile searches and phone searches through 1-800-CallDex. It also offers services such as search engine optimization and sells ad placement on Yahoo Local as well as its own online search site, DexKnows.
Dex hasn't disclosed salary details for Mockett. The company did report, however, that Mockett was given 200,000 shares of restricted stock, options on 200,000 more shares with a strike price of $9.75 and options on 600,000 shares with strike prices of $15, $23 and $32.
