Insights

Former FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy joins Somos, Inc. Board of Directors

Mar 25, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

East Brunswick, NJ, March 25, 2019 -- Somos, Inc., a leading registry management and data solutions company, is pleased to announce the appointment of former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner, Kathleen Q. Abernathy, to its Board of Directors.

“I am delighted that Kathleen is joining Somos’ board, bringing her incomparable experience as a leader and visionary in the telecommunications industry,” said Gina Perini, President and Chief Executive Officer of Somos.  “We believe her strong strategic mindset will be vitally important as Somos enters our next phase of growth.” 

Ms. Abernathy’s extensive career includes her appointment as an FCC Commissioner from May 2001 until December 2005, after which she joined Frontier Communications’ Board of Directors, and subsequently served as its Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President, Regulatory and Governmental Affairs.  During her tenure at Frontier, she was on the senior leadership team that oversaw three major strategic acquisitions that eventually grew Frontier to a Fortune 250 company.  Further, she was responsible for obtaining the state and federal regulatory approvals critical to the growth of the company.  

Ms. Abernathy is also a member of the Board of Directors of ISO New England, a regional energy transmission organization authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and is a Senior Industry and Innovation Fellow with Georgetown University’s Center for Business and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business. Prior to her term as an FCC Commissioner, she worked for a number of telecommunications companies and law firms.
 
“Drawing from her senior-level experience in both the private and public sectors, Kathleen will add an insightful perspective and a strategic voice to our Board,” said Anna Patruno, Chair of the Board of Directors.  “I look forward to her valuable contributions.”

"I am honored to serve on the Somos Board of Directors," said Abernathy. "Somos is transforming the industry through its new breed of trusted data registries, and I am excited to be a part of their further strategic growth."

During her career, Ms. Abernathy received numerous honors and awards in recognition of her contributions.  In 2015, she was named one of the top ten Women in Telecom by FierceTelecom and received the Federal Communications Bar Association Distinguished Service Award.  She was also featured as a “Leader in the Field” in the Telecom, Broadcast & Satellite: Regulatory category in the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and has been named one of Washington’s Top Lawyers by Washingtonian magazine multiple times.

About Somos, Inc. Somos is a leading provider of trusted, neutral numbering and registry administration services and data solutions. Our mission is to empower more intimate and trusted interconnections between brands, consumers, and communities. Our total customer focus is reflected in everything that we do – working collaboratively to build market value and creatively resolve industry problems. Somos serves as the North American Numbering Plan Administrator and the Pooling Administrator and operates the SMS/800 Toll-Free Number (TFN) Registry for the 41 Million and growing Toll-Free Numbers in North America. This service includes the Texting & Smart Services (TSS) Registry, the centralized registry to administer the use of Toll-Free Numbers for text messaging and multimedia services. To learn more about Somos, please visit www.somos.com.

Media Contact:

Michelle Larsen

Vice President, Customer Engagement

844.HEY.LARSEN

844.439.5277