AMS Board Elects New CEO

The board of directors of American Management Systems Inc. has elected Alfred Mockett as chairman and chief executive officer, effective Dec. 1, the company announced Sept. 17.

Mockett, succeeds William Purdy, interim CEO and president, who has been running the company since the retirement of Paul Brands in January. Purdy will continue with AMS as president and also will become chief operating officer starting Dec. 1, the board announced.

Mockett, 52, is former CEO of BT Ignite, the broadband and Internet services business of British Telecommunications Plc of London.

Following a radical restructuring of British Telecommunications 18 months ago, Mocket built BT Ignite into a leading business in the European services market with annual revenue of more than $6 billion, according to an AMS statement announcing his hiring.

BT Ignite's growth was driven by a focus on systems integration, outsourcing, complex business solutions, application service provision and media distribution.

Before joining BT, Mockett served on the board of directors of Memorex Telex NV of Tulsa, Okla., with operational responsibility for U.S. sales and service at the privately held computer company.

AMS has more than 8,000 employees and annual revenue of $1.28 billion.