The Board of Directors of Alaska Power & Telephone announced that William D. Marks will become President & CEO effective February 1, upon the successful completion of their succession plan to replace Michael Garrett, who previously announced his planned retirement after more than 34 years with the Company.
Garrett will serve as the senior advisor to Marks through March 31, 2024, to affect a seamless transition. Marks brings to AP&T a track record as a successful executive, thought leader and visionary in the cable TV and satellite industries for over thirty years. Notably, he was a founder and President of DBS Direct/DIRECTV, which was the first direct-to-home satellite television network, and CEO of Seamobile, the parent company of Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), which provided the first satellite broadband connectivity to the cruise ship industry, including the ships that frequent Southeast Alaska.
The AP&T Board said that Marks stood out from a large pool of internal and external candidates:
In 2007, Marks won the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his role as the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Seamobile, which was the largest managed service satellite provider in the world at the time.
Garrett
I want to thank the employee-owners of AP&T for the opportunity to work with them all these years. Together, we have built a foundation of trust and openness. We have also proven to be a proud investor in the communities we serve. Bill will be able to build upon our foundation as he works with the leadership team to bring value in the services our communities rely upon. I have no doubt Bill will build a lasting relationship with all AP&T’s stakeholders so that AP&T can continue to be a strong, growing, innovative leader in the energy and communications industries.
AP&T Board of Directors
We want to express our sincere gratitude to Mike Garrett for his leadership and extensive contributions to AP&T, our employee-owners, our customers, and the communities we serve. His dedicated care and concern for all our stakeholders will be a hallmark of Mike’s tenure as CEO. We wish Mike and Laurie all the best as he embarks on a well-deserved retirement... We were delighted with the strong interest and high quality of the candidates, which we believe reflect the strong reputation that our employees have built under Mike’s leadership. After careful consideration of the needs of AP&T at this time, we are delighted that Bill Marks will become the President and CEO of AP&T. We believe Bill’s leadership success, combined with the commitment and strength of AP&T’s employee-owners, will allow AP&T to be the provider of choice for our customers and a strong contributing force to the well-being of the communities throughout Alaska that we are so privileged to serve.
