Company: SAVVIS Communications
Company Description: SAVVIS Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: SVVS) is a global managed service provider that delivers private and public IP VPNs, hosting, and application services to businesses. SAVVIS targets enterprises in the financial services, legal, media, retail, professional services, and healthcare industries. SAVVIS connects 4,700+ financial institutions worldwide.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Executive

Nomination Title: Rob McCormick, Chairman & CEO

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Rob McCormick should be considered “Best Executive” for his visionary leadership of SAVVIS, a leading global managed services provider that delivers a full suite of infrastructure services – including hosting, network, and application solutions – on the company’s innovative virtualized managed services delivery platform.

McCormick stresses that the litmus test for the telecommunications industry is customer satisfaction and has had SAVVIS operating on the philosophy that “good enough is never enough”.  The philosophy is backed up by a 95% approval rating (unheard of in the telecommunications industry) from customers who say that they would recommend SAVVIS to other enterprises.

With McCormick’s vision, SAVVIS’ strategic approach is based on the use of virtualization technology, a utility services model, and automated software management and provisioning systems. This approach allows SAVVIS to dynamically provision and manage its customers’ dedicated network, server, and storage solutions from an IT resource pool offering improved performance and flexibility at a lower total cost.

SAVVIS serves 2000+ financial and enterprise customers in 45 countries. Unlike other carriers constrained by falling voice and bandwidth prices, SAVVIS owns and operates its global IP network infrastructure upon which it delivers virtualized managed application services such as financial transaction, media and content management, and voice services. All SAVVIS solutions are designed for industries with demanding IT requirements including legal, media, retail, professional services, healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services.

Outcomes and Accomplishments

• In the 2003 IDC report, SAVVIS was #3 in IP VPN market share, trailing only AT&T and WorldCom
• SAVVIS’ gross margin for the 3rd quarter grew to $20.0 million from $17.7 million
• SAVVIS' managed hosting services were awarded the Service Provider Excellence Award by Boardwatch magazine for its virtualized approach to managed hosting, and the Market Engineering Award from Frost & Sullivan for product differentiation and innovation
• SAVVIS acquired WAM!NET Inc., a leading global provider of content management and delivery services
• In May 2003, SAVVIS won the first ever American Business Awards “Stevie”TM in the category of “Best Customer Service Organization and President & CEO Rob McCormick was recognized as a finalist in the “Best Executive” category
• In the IDC’s, “The Evolution of IP VPNs -- From Best Effort to Business Class” whitepaper, it was concluded that enterprise networks that have deployed SAVVIS’ managed IP VPN solution realized a significant return on investment with the average payback period under eight months.
• The IDC also found that approximately 80% of the companies surveyed said SAVVIS had given them a competitive edge, mainly because of increased uptime, positive impact on IT productivity and ease of adding new sites.
• In December 2002, SAVVIS’ network reliability was deemed “picture perfect,” achieving a 100-percent uptime rating in Network World Magazine’s study of ISP backbone services putting SAVVIS firmly ahead of leading providers such as Sprint, Qwest, Level 3 Communications, Verio, and WilTel Communications
• In November 2002, Intel Online Services (IOS) chose SAVVIS to provide managed hosting services alternative to IOS clients in the U.S., U.K. and Japan

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

• SAVVIS Wins American Business Award(SM) For “Best Customer Service
Organization”
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=410
• SAVVIS Communications Agrees to Acquire WAM!NET’s Commercial
Business
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=436
• SAVVIS' Intelligent HostingSM Wins Boardwatch Service Provider
Excellence Award at Service Networks/ISPCON Show
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=347
• SAVVIS Reports Second Quarter Financial Results
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=435
• New IDC Study Concludes SAVVIS IP VPN Customers Realize An Average
Payback Period Under Eight Months
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=404
• SAVVIS Chairman & CEO, Rob McCormick, Named “Person Of The Year
2003” By Service Provider Weekly  - March
2003
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?
newsID=389
• SAVVIS’ Network Reliability Declared “Perfect” In Network World
Magazine's Groundbreaking Study Of ISP Backbone Performance
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=356
• SAVVIS Chosen By Intel Online Services to Provide Managed Hosting
Services to IOS’s Clients
http://www.savvis.com/company/newsroom/pressreleases/pressdetails.cfm?newsID=350

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

Rob McCormick has served as the Chairman of our board of directors since April 1999 and as our Chief Executive Officer since November 1999.  McCormick served as EVP, CTO and COO of Bridge Information Systems, Inc., where he oversaw a $1 billion operation with 4,000 employees.  McCormick also held various engineering, design and development positions dating back to 1989. He brings a unique perspective to running a networking services company, since he was formerly a customer of these types of services.  McCormick is also the architect of SAVVIS’ global network platform.  McCormick attended the University of Colorado at Boulder.