People
 

The NTS management team has a passion for providing the best communications services and products to their clients. We strive to keep ahead of developing technology and trends in the industry in order to continue satisfying our client's needs. For more about the members of the management team, see below.


Brad D. Worthington, Esq., President
Southwest Texas State, Texas Tech universities graduate

Mr. Worthington received his B.S.Ed. from Southwest Texas State University in 1987 and his J.D. from the Texas Tech University School of Law in 1990. He is licensed to practice law in the states of Texas and Colorado and is admitted to practice in the Federal District Courts, Northern District of Texas. Mr. Worthington is a member of the Lubbock County Bar Association and the Corporate Counsel Section of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Worthington has been employed by the Company since 1990. Brad, along with the management team, oversees the retail sales and the day to day operations of NTS.


Jerry E. Hoover, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Texas Tech graduate

Jerry E. Hoover joined the Company as chief financial officer in April 1994. Mr. Hoover is a certified public accountant and business consultant. He is a former founding principal in a major Lubbock, Texas accounting firm. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 1971 and shortly afterward began a career in public accounting. In his 30-plus year career, Mr. Hoover has served as a university instructor of accounting, auditing and taxation, and he has also served as a chief financial officer in the financial industry. Mr. Hoover worked closely with the Company as a financial consultant and auditor for more than a decade prior to joining the Company.


Niv Krikov, Executive Vice President - NTS Communications Inc., Chief Financial Officer - Xfone, Inc.
Mr. Krikov, prior to joining the Company in March 2007, held the following financial and accounting positions: Corporate Controller of Nur Macroprinter Ltd., a publicly traded company (OTCBB: NURMF.PK) acting as a manufacturer of wide format digital printers, where Mr. Krikov was responsible, among other duties, for the preparation of all financial reports (2005 to March 2007); Controller and later Credit and Revenues Manager of Alvarion Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALVR) (2002 to 2005); Certified public accountant at the Israeli public accounting firm of Kost Forer Gabbay & Kasierer, an affiliate of the international public accounting firm Ernst & Young (1997 to 2001). Mr. Krikov holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Accounting from the Tel Aviv University and is licensed as a CPA in Israel. Mr. Krikov also holds a LL.M degree from the Faculty of Law at the Bar Ilan University.


Cary L. Collins, Vice President - Operations
West Texas communications expert since 1979

Cary L. Collins began his career in the communications field in 1979 when he started work as an installer/repairman for GTE in West Texas. In 1981, Mr. Collins started working for Communications Corp. of America, installing and repairing customer premise phone systems in West Texas while working on the largest and most complex PBX systems in this area. In September 1984, he began working for NTS Communications. Since then, Mr. Collins has held many positions, including Operations Manager, Special Projects Manager, Director of Operations, and accepted his current position of vice president of operations in 1999. His current responsibilities include overseeing Outside Plant I/R technicians, Switching and Transport. Mr. Collins has played a major role in the engineering, installation and implementation of NTS' voice and transport infrastructure, including NTS' CLEC and FTTU products. Mr. Collins also holds accreditation in many areas, including switching, transport, FTTU and outside plant.


Daniel Wheeler, Vice President and General Counsel
Lubbock Christian, Texas Tech universities graduate

Daniel Wheeler graduated from Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas, in 1990 with a B.A. in English. He received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock, Texas, in 1993. After passing the bar exam, Mr. Wheeler began a general law practice with a small law firm in Lubbock. In 1999, he became a named partner of the firm. In the fall of 2000, he joined NTS as its General Counsel and was named Vice President in 2005. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is licensed to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Since joining NTS, Mr. Wheeler has participated in a number of complex regulatory cases before the Texas Public Utilities Commission. He is responsible for negotiating and drafting contracts, monitoring NTS' regulatory compliance, negotiating disputes between NTS and other parties, conducting general legal research, monitoring outside counsel, managing litigation, and conducting necessary internal investigations. These wide-ranging responsibilities, coupled with the drastic changes that have occurred within the communications industry, have permitted Mr. Wheeler to gain a unique and in-depth knowledge of the legal and regulatory aspects of the communications industry.


Priscilla Rivas, Vice President – Network Administration

Priscilla Rivas joined NTS on September 6, 2000 . Originally hired as a Pricing Coordinator, her strong initiative prompted her to learn two other facets of the department and in January 2001 she was promoted to Manager, Network Optimization. In this role, she was responsible for all LD Translations, network cost/capacity, and retail/wholesale quotes. In January 2009, she was promoted to Director, Network Optimization where in addition to her current responsibilities she added Bill Verification and wholesale contract/vendor relationships. In December 2009, she was promoted to Vice President, Network Administration. In this role, she has expanded her responsibilities to also include CLEC Provisioning/Translations, Customer Care, and the Network Control Center. Priscilla is an active member of Trinity Church, and also a member of the National Association of REALTORS. She is passionate about people and committed to excellence.


Milton Schober, Jr. – Vice President – Data Services
DeVry University-Dallas campus graduate

Milton Schober joined NTS Communications in 2003 as a senior network engineer, and was promoted to Vice President –Data Services in the fall of 2006. He received a B.B.A. degree with a major in Finance and Accounting from Texas Tech University in 1990. Mr. Schober was instrumental in redesigning the core network of the NTS Data Services department to accommodate the company’s Internet Protocol TV product and the increased bandwidth and redundancy requirements brought about by the company’s deployment of fiber optic cable to the customer premise. He has also worked on several projects to upgrade the network infrastructure that supports NTS’ email, web-hosting, and network management applications for growth and technological advancement. Before joining NTS, Mr. Schober held several positions in the IT department of a major regional health care provider system over a ten year period, serving as Network Manager prior to his departure. Mr. Schober brings 17 years of high-level experience in servers, data networking and communications, including fiber optic “triple play” provisioning (cable TV, broadband, and telephone services) to his position with NTS. He is active in his church and other local community activities.


Aaron Peters, Vice President - RUS Projects

Mr. Peters joined NTS Communications in 2007. Originally hired as Manager of Network Optimization, he worked in a tactical capacity for the launch of NTS' High Definition video services. Within ninety days of service at NTS, Mr. Peters was promoted to the position of Fiber Project Manager where his responsibilities included strategic, tactical and support functions for the management of a government funded FTTU construction project overbuilding several communities in West Texas.


Wendy J. Lee, SPHR, Vice President – Human Resources
Lubbock Christian University graduate
Ms. Lee joined the NTS Communications H.R. team in 2000. She is a graduate of Lubbock Christian University and holds the national certification of Senior Professional in Human Resources. She served on the board of the Lubbock Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management for many years, serving as President in 1998, and was the recipient of the chapter’s “2007 Legacy Award”. She has been an instructor in the Human Resource Management Certificate Program for Texas Tech University's Extended Studies for many years and was a member of the Advisory Committee for that program. Ms. Lee is responsible for all facets of human resource management at NTS and Xfone. Her energetic, positive spirit and the confident professionalism she brings to her work are a reflection of her dedication to the success of the company and to making a difference in the lives of the NTS and Xfone employees.