Roscitt Joins MCI As PresidentRoscitt Joins MCI As President

MCI has named telecom-industry veteran Richard Roscitt as its president and chief operating officer.

Roscitt most recently served as chairman and CEO of ADC Telecommunications. Before that, he was president of AT&T Business Services, as well as president and CEO of AT&T Solutions.

Beginning Sept. 1, Roscitt will report to CEO and chairman Michael Capellas, who joined MCI seven months ago. Since Capellas came aboard, MCI (formerly WorldCom) has replaced its CFO, general counsel, executive VP of human resources, and chief of staff, as it struggles to recover from bankruptcy, scandal, and federal fraud investigations.

Roscitt's day-to-day focus will likely be a good counterpoint to Capellas' big-picture view of things, independent telecom analyst Jeff Kagan says. At ADC, Roscitt's tight hand and emphasis on minimizing debt was instrumental in keeping the company strong through the dot-com and telco burst, he says.

ADC is promoting its CFO, Robert Switz, to chairman and CEO.