Mccaw Takes Over As Teledesic Ceo

Cellular phone pioneer Craig McCaw said Thursday he is taking over as chief executive officer of Teledesic, the satellite company he founded with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

“I’m committed to Teledesic’s vision and to providing the leadership necessary to fulfill its promise,” said McCaw, 48, currently Teledesic’s chairman. “Because Bill Gates and I have so much personal interest in Teledesic, we’ve decided that it’s best for me to play a more active role in the company’s development.”

Teledesic, a privately held company based in this Seattle suburb, is building a global network of low Earth orbit satellites to link computer networks and carry Internet transmissions. The system also would allow global video teleconferencing, paging, faxing and voice communications.

McCaw succeeds David Twyver, 51, who joined Teledesic in October 1996. Twyver will serve on a newly formed executive committee of Teledesic’s board of directors, along with McCaw and Steve Hooper, a longtime McCaw associate.