Vancouver’s Uniserve Communications Corp.,
an Internet and telephone service provider in six provinces which has
been in financial trouble, has a new president. The company said
Thursday that Michael Schmidt, formerly vice-president of sales, has
been promoted. William Spratt had been both president and CEO until
now. In addition, Bruce Sanderson has been hired as vice-president for
product development. Publicly-traded Uniserve has been trying to work
off debt for several months. According to an unaudited April filing, it
had an accumulated deficit of just over $15 million for the nine months
ending Feb. 28. For the three month period ending Feb. 28 it had a net
loss of $693,000. To help its position, last October it sold its U.S.
division, Parasun Technologies, for US$20 million, which it had bought
only the year before. Two months after the sale lawyer Michael Scholz,
who had been a director since 2004, became chairman of the board. In
a news release, CEO Spratt said that Schmidt “brings with him a proven
track record of consistent revenue growth, executive leadership and
telecommunications understanding.” Sanderson’s expertise in telephone
communications will help Uniserve deliver effective and innovative
solutions, he added.