About William M. Freeman

William M. Freeman
Advisor - Board of Directors

William M. Freeman is the former CEO of Leap Wireless International, Inc. He has also served as a senior executive at Verizon, where he was President – Public Communications Group with responsibility for marketing, sales, operations, business development and strategic planning for the public communications national market. Prior to the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger which created Verizon, Freeman was President and CEO of Bell Atlantic-New Jersey for two years. He also served as President and CEO of Bell Atlantic-Washington D.C. for four years.

Freeman began his career at New Jersey Bell in 1974 and held various positions over a 13-year period. In 1987, he transferred to Bell Atlantic Network Services as Director of Regulatory Matters. During 1989, he served as a White House Presidential Exchange Fellow and worked in the United States General Accounting Office, Trade, Energy and Finance Group. He was named Director-Customer Service Centers for Bell Atlantic-Washington in 1992 and Executive Director of External Affairs in 1993.

He was part of a presidential trade delegation made up of corporate leaders and United States Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown that traveled in 1995 to Dakar, Senegal. In 1998, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed Freeman to the Commission on Higher Education and the Commerce & Economic Development Commission. He participated in two of Governor Whitman’s official state missions to South America and to Europe.

He currently is a member of the board of directors of CIT Group, Inc. and the chairman of the board of Motient Corporation. Freeman also serves as the chairman of the board of Motient’s private majority owned affiliate, TerreStar Networks, Inc. In addition, he serves on the board of Value Added Communications, Inc. a privately held telecommunications firm and as chairman of Synthesis Security Management Systems.

Freeman is also active in the not-for-profit sector. He is vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of Drew University and a member of the board and a past chairman of the board of Junior Achievement Worldwide.

Freeman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Drew University and a Masters of Business Administration in finance and management from Rutgers University.

He and his wife, Ellen, live in Windermere, Fla., with their daughter Ashley, who is the youngest of three children.