Michael T. Prior is President and Chief Executive Officer and serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Prior joined the company in 2003 as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and became the company's Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Previous to joining the company, Mr. Prior was a partner with Q Advisors LLC, a Denver based investment banking and financial advisory firm focused on the technology and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Prior began his career as a corporate attorney with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in London and New York. He received a B.A. degree from Vassar College and a J.D. degree summa cum laude from Brooklyn Law School. Mr. Prior is currently Chairman of the Competitive Carriers Association (formerly known as Rural Carriers Association or RCA). Michael is also an active member of the Board of Trustees of Essex County Community Foundation an area non-profit organization which serves to strengthen local youth organizations within the community.
Justin D. Benincasa is our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Prior to joining us in May 2006, Mr. Benincasa was a Principal at Windover Development, LLC since 2004. From 1998 to 2004, he was Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at American Tower Corporation, a leading wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure company, where he managed finance and accounting, treasury, IT, tax, lease administration and property management. Prior to that, he was Vice President and Corporate Controller at American Radio Systems Corporation and held accounting and finance positions at American Cablesystems Corporation. Mr. Benincasa holds an M.B.A. degree from Bentley University and a B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts.
William F. Kreisher joined the company in 2007 as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development. Prior to joining ATN, Mr. Kreisher was Vice President—Corporate Development at Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Mobility) since 2004. He was part of the corporate development team at Cingular since its formation and spent five years at BellSouth before that as a Director of Finance, the acting Chief Financial Officer at its broadband and video division, and as a senior manager in its mergers and acquisitions group. Mr. Kreisher is a twenty-year veteran of the telecommunications industry, having also worked with MCI Telecommunications and Equant. Mr. Kreisher holds a Masters in Business Administration from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Catholic University of America.
Leonard Q. Slap joined the Company in 2010 as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel, after serving as outside counsel to the Company for a number of years. Prior to joining us, Mr. Slap was a partner at the law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, where for twenty five years he represented investors and companies in a variety of U.S. and international business transactions, including venture capital and private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, debt financings and workouts. Mr. Slap focused on transactions involving U.S. and international communications businesses, including broadcast, wireline, wireless broadband telecommunications, information technology and other media. Mr. Slap received a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, from Boston College and a J.D. degree, with honors, from George Washington University School of Law.
Karl D. Noone joined Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. in August 2010 as our Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. Prior to joining us, Mr. Noone served as the Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer for Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., a provider of embedded computing systems and software for signal processing applications from 2008 to 2009. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Noone served as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller of Digitas, Inc., a digital marketing and media services company. Prior to Digitas, Mr. Noone was the Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller for Lightbridge, Inc., a credit qualification and payment authorization transaction processing company and was Vice President, Finance at CMGI, Inc., an Internet operating and development company. Mr. Noone received a B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from Boston College in Accounting.
