“Louis is one of the best business athletes I’ve had the good fortune to work with during my 30-year career,” said Eazor. “He excels as a leader not only in finance but also in strategy, operations, M&A and sales. During our three years together at EarthLink, Louis took the initiative to meet frequently with key customers and prospects. He helped our sales teams close deals and refine our operational metrics and processes. I’m excited to have Louis join our team, as he brings specific skills and experiences that will benefit Rackspace at this stage of our journey.”
Alterman has extensive experience in all aspects of corporate finance, including public and private equity and debt markets, along with strategic investments, acquisitions, divestitures and mergers. He has successfully held a wide variety of roles: strategic and operational, corporate and customer-facing, domestic and international.
"I’m proud to be a Racker,” said Alterman. “I love this company’s values, its culture, and the way it takes care of its customers. From the moment I stepped into the headquarters, I could feel the energy and the engagement. The door is open for us to lead the managed I.T. services market, and I’m thrilled to reunite with Joe and work with other talented Rackers to help capitalise on this massive opportunity.”
Prior to joining Rackspace, Alterman served as CFO of EarthLink, an internet pioneer that successfully transitioned into cloud networking. During Alterman’s tenure as CFO, EarthLink materially increased cash flow and reduced leverage, lowering interest expense by 40 percent. In addition, EarthLink successfully launched and grew new service offerings to enterprise and mid-market customers, culminating in the $1.1 billion merger of EarthLink with Windstream, a U.S. telecommunications provider. Before that transaction, Alterman managed all aspects of the company’s financial activities, including investor relations, business operations, financial planning and analysis, controllership, treasury, tax, procurement and real estate. Before becoming CFO, Alterman served as executive vice president of strategy, operations and transformation where he successfully drove strategic, operational and financial improvements company-wide.
Before EarthLink, Alterman worked in a variety of domestic and international roles at BellSouth (now AT&T). Alterman earned a bachelor’s degree in business and finance at the University of Georgia, and an MBA at Emory University. He will be based at Rackspace headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.
Matt Bates, who had served as interim CFO, has been appointed to a new role as chief transformation officer. In this role, Bates will lead the effort to better scale Rackspace’s expertise and Fanatical Support®, and the engaged workplace culture that makes it possible for Rackers to deliver exceptional customer service.
