Company: Nextel Communications
Company Division/Group: Public Sector Sales Organization
Company Description: Nextel Communications, a FORTUNE 300 company based in Reston, Va., is a leading provider of fully integrated wireless communications services and has built the largest guaranteed all-digital wireless network in the country covering thousands of communities across the United States. Today 95 percent of FORTUNE 500 companies are Nextel customers.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Sales Executive

Nomination Title: Mark Angelino, Senior VP--Sales, Nextel Communications

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2003 (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:

In 2003, amid an uncertain wireless landscape, Nextel achieved record-breaking
results with a well-defined sales focus on the corporate market and a controlled
approach to growth.  Much of this success can be attributed to Mark Angelino,
Nextel's senior vice president for industry sales and service.

Since joining Nextel more than two years ago, Angelino has made radical changes
to both the structure and performance of the sales organization nationwide.  His
strategy has included redefining regional territories and increasing sales channels
to include lower cost alternatives for enterprise customers.  It has also included
selling “solutions,” not just wireless phones, which became more evident than ever
as Nextel posted the industry’s best performance metrics for another consecutive
year in 2003.  Today, under Angelino’s leadership, Nextel’s sales organization
operates like a fine-tuned machine; his dedicated strategy and his charismatic
leadership have made him and his team of thousands true standouts in the
wireless industry.

To Angelino’s credit, Nextel currently targets more than a dozen industry
segments with dedicated sales forces designed to understand and meet the
specific needs of customers in fields as diverse as public safety, healthcare,
construction, transportation, and manufacturing.  This segmented approach has
created a focus and expertise that makes Nextel a well-respected solutions
provider to enterprise and public sector customers of all sizes.

“Our customers know that they can call on us, and work with a person who is well
versed and specialized in their industry,” says Angelino.  “We know how to ask
the right questions and solve problems that are unique to a certain working
environment. We are better equipped to tailor to a company’s needs than anyone
else is, because we’ve worked extremely hard to learn from our customers and
treat each industry as a complete individual.”

In addition to vertical segmentation, Angelino’s vision for low cost channels such
as Web sales, telesales and retail stores has helped streamline Nextel’s operating
expenditures, offering more options to customers. Utilizing more than two
decades of experience at IBM, Angelino believed in the value of diversifying buying
options, even for large enterprises. In 2003 these channels proved their
worth, accounting for more than 20 percent of Nextel’s revenues.     

Angelino’s organizational changes did more than realign personnel—they
improved Nextel's sales performance and ultimately increased the company’s
revenue.

Evidenced in the fact that Nextel now serves more than 95% of the Fortune 500,
Angelino's strategy for targeting customers on their terms, not Nextel's, has
clearly been a successful endeavor.  At the end of the Q3 2003, the proof was
truly in Nextel's results—reporting an average revenue per user of $71,
Nextel was significantly higher than any other wireless carrier. And, with a churn of
approximately 1.4%, Nextel is successfully securing customers and keeping them
longer than anyone else.

Angelino's strategy and vision make him an unquestionable Stevie Award nominee
for 2003.  From redefining how to sell wireless to the enterprise customer, to
demonstrating the value of lower cost channels, he has helped make Nextel the
envy of the wireless industry.

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

Sales and Marketing Management: Wireless Wonder--Mark Angelino
http://www.salesandmarketing.com/smm/search/search_results.jsp

Forbes: Best Managed Companies--Telecommunications
Nextel Back from the Edge
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2004/0112/172a.html

Fortune: Guarding Nextel's Niche
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/techatwork/articles/0,15704,485831,00.html

For a list of press releases that detail specific industry segment products, services
and partnerships:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=63347&p=irol-news

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

As senior vice president, sales and distribution, Mr. Angelino develops sales
strategy, organization, compensation, sales force automation and lead
management for Nextel's entire sales force.

Prior to joining Nextel, Mr. Angelino held various positions at IBM, including Vice
President, Organizational Transformation and Vice President, Worldwide Sales. 
Mr. Angelino started his career in IBM's Small and Medium business unit and
spent 22 years in a variety of sales and finance assignments nationwide.

Mr. Angelino received a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Colgate University.
He also attended Harvard University where he received a master’s in business
administration.