Barney, who has held the CEO position at both Pacnet, and predecessor Asia Netcom, for over a decade will also leave the company’s board of directors.
The development comes as a major surprise considering Barney served as a keynote speaker at a panel session on the Asian market just last Monday at International Telecoms Week in Chicago. He has been a regular figure at Capacity conferences and ITW, speaking on some of the largest topics in the industry.
Pacnet has announced present CFO Brett Lay has been appointed as interim CEO, and the company confirmed a global search is underway for a permanent replacement for Barney. Lay has 25 years of industry experience, and has served as CFO for the past five years.
“Brett is a seasoned telecoms executive,” said James Ousley, Pacnet’s independent chairman. “On behalf of the board of directors, we are confident in his capabilities and commitment to lead Pacnet during this leadership and to play a pivotal role with the new CEO.”
It has been suggested since this morning’s developments in Asia the departure could have a link to Indonesia’s PT Telkom making a $1 billion play to acquire Pacnet months ago, but rumours remain unconfirmed.
