Executives

Paul Sunu is president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Windstream. He has more than 27 years of telecommunication industry experience, with a focus on rural telecommunications.

Sunu previously served as chief executive officer of FairPoint Communications, where he helped improve service quality and develop an 18,000-mile fiber network to serve over 300 healthcare facilities and 1,600 fiber-to-the-tower connections before the company’s merger with Consolidated Communications in 2017. Prior to FairPoint, he was the chief financial officer of Hargray Communications and Hawaiian Telcom. Sunu was co-founder and chief financial officer of Madison River Communications before its merger with CenturyLink (now Lumen).

Sunu has served on numerous boards, including as chairman and vice chairman of Electric Lightwave. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and Accounting from the University of Illinois. Sunu has held several professional certifications and licenses during his career, including as a member of the Bar and as a certified public accountant, both in the State of Illinois.

Drew Smith was appointed chief financial officer and treasurer for Windstream in 2022. He is responsible for overseeing Windstream’s accounting, finance, capital planning, tax, procurement, audit, investor relations and treasury teams.

He has held numerous leadership roles within the company since joining in 2008. He most recently served as executive vice president of financial planning and treasurer for Windstream where he oversaw financial forecasting and planning, treasury and capital market functions and debt management as well business development for the company. Prior to this, Drew served as president of consumer and small and medium-sized business services. He also has held senior leadership roles in access management, carrier relations and service delivery.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Central Arkansas. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Jeff Small is president of Windstream’s Kinetic division serving consumer and business customers in markets where Windstream is the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC). Small has served in this capacity for the past six years and oversees sales, customer care, field operations, engineering and construction. Additionally, he is the executive sponsor of the Windstream Black Professionals Network employee resource group.

Small joined the company in June 2016 as executive vice president of engineering and network operations. Previously, he was senior vice president of corporate development and operations for Uniti Group. Before joining Uniti, Small was vice president of procurement and carrier service delivery at Windstream and held a variety of accounting and finance leadership roles with Windstream.

Small holds an accounting degree from Arkansas State University.

Michael Flannery is president of the Enterprise business unit at Windstream. He is responsible for overseeing all components of the organization and for leading transformative initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation and inclusion and driving better business outcomes for customers.

Flannery is a seasoned business leader with more than 24 years of industry experience, having previously served as chief revenue officer and chief marketing officer of Windstream Enterprise with a proven track record of delivering operational excellence. He joined Windstream in February 2017 from EarthLink, where he was senior vice president and managing director of the small and medium business unit, and previously senior vice president of sales and revenue operations. Prior to EarthLink, Flannery held leadership roles at Level 3 and Global Crossing.

Flannery earned a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance and information systems from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Binghamton University.

Joe Scattareggia is president of Windstream Wholesale.

Scattareggia is responsible for sales, marketing, service delivery, service assurance, engineering, and field operations within the Wholesale business unit. With an extensive background spanning over three decades in the global telecom industry, he has experience building and leading high-performing global teams to achieve success.

Before being named president, Scattareggia served as the chief revenue officer. His tenure at Windstream spans more than 10 years, during which he has been instrumental in driving strategic initiatives and fostering growth within the organization. Previously, he held senior executive roles at Calltrade, Arbinet and Viatel, building high-performing teams and driving revenue results.

He is committed to telecom innovation and customer-centric growth, expanding networks, optimizing sales, and fostering a culture of excellence—always placing the customer at the forefront.

Scattareggia earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from SUNY Plattsburgh.

Jeff Austin is chief network officer and executive vice president of network services for Windstream. He is responsible for customer care and service assurance, service delivery, network operations, network engineering and strategy, and field operations where Windstream is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier, as well as product engineering, operational intelligence, and network automation.

Austin held a variety of leadership positions at Comcast during his 26 years with the company, most recently serving as corporate vice president – Engineering Operations & Network Services, where he led the Comcast One Network Program to integrate and align construction and engineering operations across the enterprise.

He joined Windstream in 2023 as chief technology officer for Windstream’s consumer-focused Kinetic business unit. Austin holds a Master of Business Administration from CCU and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas Tech University. He is involved as a member and thought leader for multiple industry organizations, including the Society of Cable Television Engineers. In addition, Austin served as a founder and board member for CableHome Business and Technical Team.

Stephen Farkouh is chief information officer at Windstream. He oversees all aspects of information technology at Windstream and is responsible for partnering with the business to maximize the value of technology investments and drive new opportunity.

Farkouh was previously Windstream’s senior vice president of cloud technology and platform development. In that role, he was responsible for the creation of award-winning UCaaS and SD-WAN products, customer self-service web portals and mobile applications, and software integrations.

Farkouh joined Windstream in August 2017 following the acquisition of Broadview Networks where he led numerous transformation programs, including the shift to agile software development methodologies and DevOps.

He has over 30 years’ experience applying innovative software to create strategic differentiation and over 10 years’ experience working at an executive level. Prior to Windstream, Farkouh worked with Broadview Networks, AT&T, Teleport Communications Group, Objective Systems Integrators, and Bellcore.

Farkouh holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University.

Mary Michaels is chief human resources officer at Windstream. She oversees all human resource functions, including compensation, benefits, learning and development, recruiting, employee relations, talent development and employee engagement.

Michaels was most recently Windstream’s vice president of compensation and benefits, a position she had held since November 2016. Previously she served as director of investor relations and capital markets and then vice president of investor relations and assistant treasurer for the company. Before that, she served in various finance positions at Alltel Wireless.

Michaels holds a master’s degree in business administration and finance from Webster University and a bachelor’s degree in business from Tulane University.

Kristi Moody is executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer for Windstream. Moody oversees the company’s legal affairs, including strategic initiatives, contracts and contingencies, risk management, government affairs, regulatory and ethics compliance, and corporate governance matters. She is currently the executive sponsor of Windstream’s employee resource group, Women of Windstream.

Moody joined Windstream in 2006 as senior litigation counsel. She was named vice president of law in 2012 and deputy general counsel in 2013, and served as Windstream’s corporate secretary until May 2023.

Prior to joining Windstream, Moody was in private practice for 11 years at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP. She has a juris doctorate from the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Louisiana Tech University.

John Eichler is senior vice president and controller for Windstream. Eichler is responsible for the company's accounting, external reporting, regulatory reporting, and accounts payable functions. He previously served as vice president of internal audit for Windstream.

Eichler was vice president of internal audit for Alltel's wireline business prior to joining Windstream in July 2006. Before joining Alltel, Eichler served as a consultant for companies in the communications industry and is a former audit manager for Arthur Andersen LLP.

Eichler holds a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Arkansas. He is a licensed certified public accountant. He serves on the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Arkansas and the Sam M. Walton College of Business Accounting Advisory Board at the University of Arkansas.