NEW YORK — Leo Hindery, the outspoken executive who only a year ago left the helm of AT&T's cable TV operation, has resigned as chief executive of Global Crossing Ltd., a company building a global fiber-optic network.
Thomas J. Casey, who is currently vice chairman on Global Crossing's board of directors, will be the new CEO, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said Wednesday.
While the resignation was unexpected, Hindery's departure appeared to be on much more cordial terms than his sudden exit from AT&T.
"I have done what I set out to do at Global Crossing," Hindery said in a statement issued by Global Crossing. "It is a privilege to now turn over the reins to Tom Casey. Tom and I have worked very closely together since I arrived and I have complete confidence in his judgment, knowledge and leadership."
Hindery sealed two substantial deals since joining the company last December, helping erase billions of dollars of debt. Just two weeks ago, he reached an agreement to sell Global Center, a fast-growing business that manages the powerful computers used for Web sites and e-commerce.
Notably, while he is relinquishing the top post immediately, Hindery will continue as CEO of Global Center until the sale to Exodus Communications is completed.
In July, Hindery also sold a local telephone business that Global Crossing acquired when merging with Frontier Corp.
Combined, the two deals raised $10 billion and eliminated two operations that were peripheral to the company's main focus on becoming a new-age communications carrier with cross-ocean links between continents.
Jack Grubman, an industry analyst for Salomon Smith Barney, said it wasn't a surprise to see Hindery stepping down following the Exodus deal.
"Leo Hindery was essentially brought in to maximize the value of Global Center, which he did by engineering a deal with Exodus for a $6.5 billion value, clearly better than what (Global Crossing) expected for Global Center a year ago," Grubman said in a note to investors. "Leo's departure clearly deprives (Global Crossing) of a very astute operator. On the other hand, the Global Crossing bench, led by Thomas Casey, is far deeper and more talented than we believe people realize."
Hindery first gained prominence as the head of Tele-Communications Inc., the giant cable company he led through a major turnaround before it was acquired by AT&T last year. AT&T initially chose Hindery to lead the cable business through an aggressive expansion into high-speed Internet and telephone service, but he abruptly resigned just months later.
"We believe Leo clearly has intentions and ambitions that run to much grander pursuits beyond the corporate world," said Grubman. "It would not shock us to see Leo pursuing other endeavors, especially in the public policy arena."
Global Crossing's stock closed Wednesday down 10 percent on the Nasdaq composite index, declining $2.44 a share to $21.44.