James R. Walker.

• Position: Brief Article

In March 2000, James R. Walker became the president and CEO of Expanets, the nation's largest provider of network communications solutions to mid-market businesses. He brings over 30 years of telecommunications experience to a two-year-old company with 750,000 customers, 4,000 employees and more than $1.4 billion in annualized revenue. Expanets will soon move from New Jersey to Colorado, and by January 2001, will employ 200 to 250 corporate telecommunications professionals at its Meridian office park location in Douglas County.

Walker, an Oklahoma native, had a life long goal of residing in Colorado, and did so in 1983 between assignments with AT&T. In later years during a sabbatical, Walker and his wife Marilyn built a home in Colorado to prepare for retirement. Then, Expanets offered him a leadership opportunity he couldn't refuse.

"Expanets is the county's market leader in what it does: managing every aspect of voice and data needs for small and mid-sized businesses," Walker said. "Colorado is not only a telecommunications hotbed, it has many entrepreneurs. There is also a lot of entrepreneurial energy around the United States, and a lot of demand for telecommunications products and services to support entrepreneurs in the information age. Our customers typically don't have telecommunications or IT staff-so they rely on Expanets. We design and implement their voice and data systems, support the systems and add new products as their businesses grow. We are a one-stop communications solutions provider."

Expanets is the largest dealer of Avaya telecommunications products. Avaya is the former Enterprise - Networks Group of Lucent Technologies, and many of the products Expanets sells are...