John Sidgmore, the Internet pioneer and former WorldCom executive who steered the company as it emerged from a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal, died Thursday at the age of 52.Sidgmore become chairman and CEO of WorldCom, now known as MCI, after the previous CEO Bernard Ebbers resigned in April of last year amid scrutiny of his involvement in the company’s mounting financial woes.Sidgmore, who had been vice chairman of WorldCom, then led the company as it filed for bankruptcy in what has been called one of the largest bankruptcy filings in U.S. history. He then aided the company in a search for his replacement, and in November of last year was succeeded as chairman and CEO by former HP President Michael Capellas.In a statement issued Thursday, WorldCom paid tribute to Sidgmore, saying that he had a profound, positive effect on the lives of thousands of the company’s employees. Before heading the telecommunications giant, Sidgmore was president and CEO of ISP UUNET. When UUNET merged with MFS Communications, he became president of MFS, which in turn was bought by WorldCom in 1996. Related content news Fortinet brings AI help to enterprise security teams manage threats Fortinet Advisor aims to help customers respond to threats more quickly By Michael Cooney Dec 11, 2023 3 mins Network Security Security how-to Getting started with scripting on Linux, Part 1 Once a script is prepared and tested, you can get a significant task completed simply by typing the script's name followed by any required arguments. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Dec 11, 2023 5 mins Linux feature Starkey swaps out MPLS for managed SD-WAN Hearing aid manufacturer achieves performance boost, increased reliability and cost savings after a shift from MPLS to managed SD-WAN services from Aryaka. By Neal Weinberg Dec 11, 2023 6 mins SASE SD-WAN Network Security news Nvidia races to fulfill AI demand with its first Vietnam semiconductor hub Vietnam has been a growing tech manufacturing destination for the past few years, and Nvidia said it is open to a new manufacturing partner in Vietnam. By Sam Reynolds Dec 11, 2023 3 mins CPUs and Processors Technology Industry Podcasts Videos Resources Events NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe