Primary Job Title Chief Executive Officer Primary Organization 
Peerless Network
Location Greater Chicago Area, United States, North America Regions Great Lakes Gender Male
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John Barnicle has 30 years of leadership experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to founding Peerless Network, John was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lynch Interactive Corp. where he led the effort to take the company private. Under his leadership the firm grew non-regulated revenue streams on a 20% annual pace and reduced
the company’s reliance on USF (Universal Service Fund) financial support.
Prior to Lynch Interactive Corp., John served as Co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer of Neutral Tandem Inc. which he helped grow from inception to an annualized revenue run rate of over $40 million in just 20 months. Under John’s control, Neutral Tandem became EBITDA positive within 12 months of providing service. His leadership established the foundation for the company’s successful Initial Public Offering in November 2007.
Prior to Neutral Tandem, John was Co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer of Focal Communications Corp. With direct responsible for all day-to-day activities of the company, John grew Focal to over $350M in annualized revenue in less than six years, guided the company to an operating profit in its first full year of operations and was involved in raising over $800 million in capital during that period, including a successful IPO in July 1999. John also held executive management roles at MFS Communications, Duff and Phelps Credit Rating Company and Centel Corporation.
Mr. Barnicle earned an M.B.A. in Finance from DePaul University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis on RF communications systems from the University of Illinois at Champaign.
