Ms. Larissa Herda took the helm of tw telecom inc., formerly Time Warner Telecom Inc., as CEO and President, on June 19, 1998. She was elected Chairman of the tw telecom inc. Board of Directors effective June 7, 2001, and held the title of Chairman and CEO until November 2014. Under Ms. Herda’s direction, tw telecom grew from $26 million in revenue in 1997 to nearly $1.6 Billion in 2013; expanded its broadband network footprint from 17 U.S. markets to 80; built a national IP backbone recognized as one of the top 10 most connected IP networks in the world; introduced comprehensive data, voice, Internet and national Ethernet products and made three acquisitions totaling over $1.2B — a regional Internet service provider and two competitive local metro telecom carriers. While serving as Chairman and CEO, Ms. Herda raised more than $8.5 billion in the public and private debt markets, including a $290 million IPO. Ms. Herda completed the sale of tw telecom to Level 3 for $7.3 Billion ( $5.9B equity value) in November 2014.
Ms. Herda currently serves on the Bridge Entrepreneurs Network Colorado (BEN) Board (formally Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network). BEN strengthens Colorado’s expanding scale-up ecosystem by connecting high growth companies with successful entrepreneurs and community members. Ms. Herda was appointed by President Obama to serve as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), and was chairman of the FCC’s Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). She was also chairman of the board of the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City. Recognized for her business efforts and leadership in the community, Ms. Herda was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region and the Denver Business Journal’s CEO of the Year and Outstanding Woman in Business. In addition, she was named Telecom Executive of the Year by the Denver Telecom Professionals. She also received the “Swede” Johnson Hope Award presented by the Colorado Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of America. Ms. Herda served as a member of the board of directors at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado for eight years and as a member of the school’s advisory board for the Center for Education in Social Responsibility (CESR). She is a recipient of the University of Colorado’s George Norlin Award which recognizes outstanding alumni who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their chosen field of endeavor and a devotion to the betterment of society and their community. She was a member of The Committee of 200 and a member of the community advisory board of SungateKids, a local children’s advocacy center helping abused children and their families. Ms. Herda is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder.
