BRUSSELS, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/Asianet/ -- Global One announced today that Viestur Vucins has been named President and CEO -- a newly created position -- of the international joint venture of France Telecom, Sprint and Deutsche Telekom. Vucins, 50, has an extensive background in international telecommunications. He was a founder and former President of the Unisource/Uniworld joint ventures in Europe, served as President of Swedish Telekom International and spent 17 years at Ericsson Fiber Optics Co. He will be based in Brussels and will report to the Global Venture Board, comprised of Michel Bon, Chairman of France Telecom, William T. Esrey, Chairman and CEO of Sprint, and Dr. Ron Sommer, Chairman of the Management Board of Deutsche Telekom. The appointment is effective immediately. "Vucins is an exceptionally talented executive with broad experience in international telecommunications," the three chairmen said in a joint statement. "He is uniquely qualified to lead Global One into the next phase of its development as the premier provider of truly global and seamless telecommunications services for businesses, carriers and consumers around the world." Vucins will oversee the Global Venture Office. Reporting to him will be Chris Rooney, President, Global One World, Jean Arnould, President Global One Europe, and Juergen Dostal, President Global Services. The executive team will focus on providing state-of-the-art service to existing customers and expanding the customer base. Since its launch of February 1, 1996, Global One has exceeded its targets for customer and operational achievement. The company counts more than 30,000 business customers and more than 2,900 employees. It has had direct sales presence in more than 60 countries and more than 50 national service partners worldwide. CONTACT: Vince Hovanec, +1-703-689-7737, or fax: +1-703-689-7592, or E-mail: [email protected]; or Dagmar Merz, +322-545-2654, or Fax: +322-545-2655, both of Global One/