NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Struggling with tough competition, Internet telephony provider Vonage Holdings Corp. has turned to a former marketing executive from AT&T Inc. to polish up the company's image as its new CEO.
The Holmdel-based company said Tuesday that its board of directors has selected Marc Lefar as the company's new chief executive.
He replaces company founder Jeffrey Citron, who has served as interim CEO since April 2007, when Michael Snyder stepped down as the company's legal challenges and financial losses mounted.
Lefar served as chief marketing officer of Cingular Wireless, now AT&T Mobility, for more than four years, and later founded a technology and media consultancy called Marketing Insights.
Vonage is one of the leading providers of Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, services, which allows people to make cheap or free calls over a broadband Internet connection. With 2.6 million customers, Vonage is the leading independent Internet phone service, but its once rapid growth has lost steam as cable companies like Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc., have rolled out competing services.
Due to high marketing costs and patent-infringement lawsuits from phone companies, Vonage has lost more than $967 million over the past five years.
Lefar said in a statement that he will focus on improving the customer experience, and that "meaningful, intuitive features will accelerate growth and improve loyalty."
Vonage shares gained 3 cents to $1.45 in after-hours trading Tuesday. They had closed the regular trading session down 4 cents, or 2.7 percent, at $1.42. News of the appointment of a permanent CEO leaked last week.
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