Release Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2005

MCI PRESIDENT AND CEO MICHAEL CAPELLAS TO DELIVER INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP ADVANCEMENT EXECUTIVE LECTURE September 7 AT UGA

ATHENS, Ga. — Michael Capellas, president and CEO of MCI, will present an executive lecture titled, "Lessons in Leadership - Staying Focused in Today's Evolving Business Environment", at 5 pm on Wednesday, September 7, in room 101 of the University of Georgia's Student Learning Center.

Capellas' lecture, sponsored by UGA's Terry College of Business, the Terry MBA Program and the Institute for Leadership Advancement, is free and open to the public.

A native of Warren, Ohio, Capellas attended Kent State's College of Business Administration, graduating in 1976. He worked for Republic Steel Corp., Schlumberger Ltd., SAP America and Oracle Corp. before being hired in 1998 by Compaq Computer Corp. to be the company's chief information officer. He was promoted to president, CEO and chairman of the board at Compaq before it merged with Hewlett-Packard Co. in 2002.

Capellas served as Hewlett-Packard's president for six months before taking over as chairman and CEO of MCI WorldCom in the wake of the telecommunications company's $11 billion accounting scandal. Capellas steered the company through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 16 months, at the end of which MCI emerged from the largest corporate bankruptcy in history having reduced its $41 billion debt to $5.8 billion. In August 2005, MCI posted its first positive quarterly earnings statement since its bankruptcy.

Actively involved in community and charitable work, Capellas became the first recipient of the Hope Technology Award from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2002. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and plays a leadership role in supporting City Year, an organization that advocates and sponsors voluntary national service for young people.

The ILA's Executive Leadership Speaker Series seeks to bring established, well-known leaders from a variety of organizations to the Terry College of Business and the University of Georgia. In these student-oriented forums, guest speakers discuss their leadership styles and experience.

The Institute for Leadership Advancement was established in 2000 as a multidisciplinary academic unit within the Terry College. The ILA's purpose is to create and promote cutting-edge knowledge about leadership and use that knowledge to develop leaders who enhance the performance of their organizations and communities. With a variety of opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, executives and business organizations, the ILA is one of the most comprehensive leadership development institutes to exist within a university setting anywhere in the country.

More information about the Terry College of Business and the ILA is available at www.terry.uga.edu.

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