Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
It's been a tough week at Yipes Communications Inc. On Monday, the startup service provider announced that it is filing for bankruptcy protection (see Yipes Joins Chapter 11 Club). By yesterday, it had a new CEO.
Jerry Parrick, founder of Yipes and chairman of its board, has been replaced -- apparently as of Tuesday night. The new CEO is Dennis D. Muse. Yipes officials say Muse joined the company in January as chief operating officer, although no announcement was made and his name does not appear on the executive roster on Yipes' home page.
So what gives? Why is Parrick out? Who is Muse, and what's the hope for his tenure at Yipes?
Yipes isn't saying much on any of these points. Members of the board refuse to comment on the switch, and the PR contact, Jonathan Marshall, issued this statement in an email message to Light Reading last night:
Prior to joining iAsiaworks, Muse was CEO of ReFlex Communications, a provider of DSL services for multitenant dwellings in Seattle. Muse was at the helm of ReFlex from February 2000 to April 2001, while the company underwent a series of misfortunes, including inability to get new funding. Local newspapers report the firm filed for liquidation in March 2001, and some of ReFlex's assets were bought late last year by InterQuest Communications, another broadband service provider for residential housing developments in the Western U.S.
Muse's earlier career spanned better times for the telecom industry. He worked from January 1998 to February 2000 as president of the Telecom division of MCI Worldcom, where he oversaw "100 markets across North America," expanding the group's revenue from $500 million to $1.2 billion within two years, according to a press release issued by iAsiaworks when he joined that company.
Muse headed up the wholesale and Internet sales and support division of MFS Communications between January 1996 and December 1997, during which period the company came under the umbrella of acquirer WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq: WCOM).
Muse started his career as a salesman at Sprint Corp. (NYSE: FON). He holds a BS in business and marketing from Southern Illinois University.
Whatever the future holds, it's clear Muse has experience overseeing companies that are in dire straits. He's been faced with renegotiating debt, attempting to raise funds, and making tough decisions in hard times.
What's not clear is whether, given the prospects for startup carriers in the near term, Muse will bring new hope to the struggling Yipes -- or serve as its undertaker.
— Mary Jander, Senior Editor, Light Reading
http://www.lightreading.com
Jerry Parrick, founder of Yipes and chairman of its board, has been replaced -- apparently as of Tuesday night. The new CEO is Dennis D. Muse. Yipes officials say Muse joined the company in January as chief operating officer, although no announcement was made and his name does not appear on the executive roster on Yipes' home page.
So what gives? Why is Parrick out? Who is Muse, and what's the hope for his tenure at Yipes?
Yipes isn't saying much on any of these points. Members of the board refuse to comment on the switch, and the PR contact, Jonathan Marshall, issued this statement in an email message to Light Reading last night:
- "In view of the special demands upon senior management during Yipes' reorganization, Jerry Parrick and the Board of Directors have turned over day-to-day operations to Dennis D. Muse. Jerry will continue to handle Yipes' relations with investors and partners as Founder and Chairman of the Board."
Prior to joining iAsiaworks, Muse was CEO of ReFlex Communications, a provider of DSL services for multitenant dwellings in Seattle. Muse was at the helm of ReFlex from February 2000 to April 2001, while the company underwent a series of misfortunes, including inability to get new funding. Local newspapers report the firm filed for liquidation in March 2001, and some of ReFlex's assets were bought late last year by InterQuest Communications, another broadband service provider for residential housing developments in the Western U.S.
Muse's earlier career spanned better times for the telecom industry. He worked from January 1998 to February 2000 as president of the Telecom division of MCI Worldcom, where he oversaw "100 markets across North America," expanding the group's revenue from $500 million to $1.2 billion within two years, according to a press release issued by iAsiaworks when he joined that company.
Muse headed up the wholesale and Internet sales and support division of MFS Communications between January 1996 and December 1997, during which period the company came under the umbrella of acquirer WorldCom Inc. (Nasdaq: WCOM).
Muse started his career as a salesman at Sprint Corp. (NYSE: FON). He holds a BS in business and marketing from Southern Illinois University.
Whatever the future holds, it's clear Muse has experience overseeing companies that are in dire straits. He's been faced with renegotiating debt, attempting to raise funds, and making tough decisions in hard times.
What's not clear is whether, given the prospects for startup carriers in the near term, Muse will bring new hope to the struggling Yipes -- or serve as its undertaker.
— Mary Jander, Senior Editor, Light Reading
http://www.lightreading.com
plumpy
12/4/2012 | 10:42:15 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
Vab made Matt Bross look like a piker...How about a "TAB SLUTS" news article ?
Matt Bross, Vab Goel (cub VC), (your entry here).
p
goniners
12/4/2012 | 10:42:12 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
For those of us just now tuning intoto the Yipes saga, some background please!
Who are Vab and Matt Bross and whats the
joke behind "TABS SLUTS"?
vin19001
12/4/2012 | 10:42:11 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
Anyone have specifics on top creditors and how much cash remains?
billy_fold
12/4/2012 | 10:42:11 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
No Hype,Absolutely fabulous post! Unfortunately it sounds a lot like another saga that played itself out in New Jersey (involving the MIB) about a year and a half ago. The only thing that you forgot was to key the music (Theme from F Troop) at the end.
billy
No Hype
12/4/2012 | 10:42:11 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
LR: "Mr. Parrick, would you like to comment on your recent departure from Yipes?"Parrick: "Sure, I'll begin by saying we are making great progress in our efforts to restructure our financial obligations and we believe Chapter 11 is great strategic move for both Yipes and our customers"
LR: "But Mr. Parrick, our reports indicate you were fired because of poor performance in your role as CEO, how do you explain that?"
Parrick: "Well, I wasn't completely fired, just kicked out the door. I am still Chairman of the Board so I have the potential to screw things up even more than they already are."
LR: "Tell us about your replacement, Dennis Muse. Was he originally hired to be your heir apparent?"
Parrick: "Not at all. He was brought on board because we still had a CXX position which was not filled. In January it became obvious the company was doomed, so I had to hurry up and hire a COO to go along with the CFO, CMO, CTO and CIO."
LR: "Did you perform due diligence to ensure Mr. Muse was the right person for the job?"
Parrick: "I certainly did. It is clear from his background that he is very capable of coming on board a struggling company and watching it go out of business. He has accomplished absolutely nothing since he joined Yipes and I fully expect him to continue this level of performance."
LR: "Can you explain your interpretation of Gigabit Ethernet as a disruptive telecommunications technology?"
Parrick: "Yes I can. While I was in charge of Yipes we took the best idea to come along in a decade and drove it right into the ground. We now have the VC community avoiding any type of investment in new telecommunications services. We have the next-generation equipment makers such as Extreme and Riverstone on the ropes because everyone thinks it was our business model that failed instead of my management. And finally we have all the enterprise customers in the U.S. scared to death to try anything new. You might want to call GigE a "disruptive" disruptive technology."
LR: "There have been reports that recently laid-off Yipes employees will not be receiving severance pay nor compensation for their accrued vacation days. Can you comment on this?"
Parrick: "I don't know anything about Yipes employees."
LR: "Finally, what are your plans for the future?"
Parrick: "Since I will never be able to raise another dime in VC funding, I intend to apply for a CEO job at an established, well-run company and work my magic."
themaninblack
12/4/2012 | 10:42:10 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
No Hype,ROTFLMAO!!!! Nice writing style.
Is Mr. Parrick brothers with Tachion's MIB? They share similiar traits...
Hmmmm, I wonder if ol' Jeffy ever tried to sell brother Jerry a FUSION 5000 box...
willywilson
12/4/2012 | 10:42:08 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
Parrick: "Yes I can. While I was in charge of Yipes we took the best idea to come along in a decade and drove it right into the ground. We now have the VC community avoiding any type of investment in new telecommunications services. We have the next-generation equipment makers such as Extreme and Riverstone on the ropes because everyone thinks it was our business model that failed instead of my management. And finally we have all the enterprise customers in the U.S. scared to death to try anything new. You might want to call GigE a "disruptive" disruptive technology."-------------------------------
This GigE stuff just seems like GigE mapped into an OC-48. What's so new? As for VCs, well, they never knew squat about the technology to begin with.
No Hype
12/4/2012 | 10:42:04 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
Willy-To clarify the role of GigE as a transport method, it is not mapped to any type of SONET service and does not utilize any hardware other than layer 3 Ethernet switches. Service is delivered to the customer from an Ethernet port which is part of a VLAN that includes either other office locations (MAN service) or the backbone transit router (NET service). It is almost identical to the Ethernet network inside an office building, primary difference being the 100m distance limitation is no longer a factor due to long range Ethernet GBIC cards which allow communication up to 70-80Km. The advantages are much lower hardware costs, approx. $20K per site, and much faster provisioning time, approx. 5 minutes per service. However, the physical challenges of securing space to locate the equipment and trenching the fiber into the building are very difficult to overcome for a new carrier such as Yipes.
willywilson
12/4/2012 | 10:41:59 PM
re: Yipes's Parrick Gets the Boot
To clarify the role of GigE as a transport method, it is not mapped to any type of SONET service and does not utilize any hardware other than layer 3 Ethernet switches. Service is delivered to the customer from an Ethernet port which is part of a VLAN that includes either other office locations (MAN service) or the backbone transit router (NET service). It is almost identical to the Ethernet network inside an office building, primary difference being the 100m distance limitation is no longer a factor due to long range Ethernet GBIC cards which allow communication up to 70-80Km. The advantages are much lower hardware costs, approx. $20K per site, and much faster provisioning time, approx. 5 minutes per service. However, the physical challenges of securing space to locate the equipment and trenching the fiber into the building are very difficult to overcome for a new carrier such as Yipes.---------------------------------
I guess I'll have to go back and do some reading. I've been told by several people that all the GigE carriers including Yipes were running their GigE over SONET OC's.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
sponsor supplied content
Educational Resources Archive
FEATURED VIDEO
UPCOMING LIVE EVENTS
February 7-9, 2023, Virtual Event
February 15, 2023, Virtual Event
March 15-16, 2023, Embassy Suites, Denver, CO
March 21, 2023, Virtual Event
May 15-17, 2023, Austin, TX
December 6-7, 2023, New York City
UPCOMING WEBINARS
February 2, 2023
DIY Data Center Automation Deep Dive: Challenges and Opportunities for CSPs, Enterprises, and Cloud Providers
February 7, 2023
Optical Networking Digital Symposium - Day 1
February 9, 2023
Optical Networking Digital Symposium - Day 2
February 14, 2023
Achieve Your Growth Potential with Next-Gen Content Delivery
February 15, 2023
Digital Divide Digital Symposium
February 16, 2023
SCTE® LiveLearning for Professionals Webinar™ Series: Getting the Edge on Edge Computing
Webinar Archive
PARTNER PERSPECTIVES - content from our sponsors
How 5G Thrives ASEAN Digital Economy
By Huawei
Capitalizing On 5G Innovation To Deliver Breakthroughs At The Edge
By Kerry Doyle, sponsored by ZTE
All Partner Perspectives
I am sure that at the end of that interview you can imagine Jerry and Ron getting into their twin Mercedes Benz with "YIPES 1" and "YIPES 2" liscense plates roaring off into the sunset.
It would be funny if it was a story.
A high tech version of "Barbarians at the Gate", the excess, the lack of discpline and the showmanship.
I believe that these guys really liked what they where doing but then again who wouldn't?
Tepee