Excerpts from paper, "WorldCom: From Gigantic Dreams to Titanic Troubles!"

"Sporting a beard and often seen clad in jeans, the maverick CEO seemed to be the perfect antidote for an industry mired in tradition. Ebbers, a former high school basketball coach, had come a long way from his first foray into telecom, LDDS, a long distance reseller that was conceived at a conversation over coffee at a diner in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Under Bernie’s guidance, the company quickly evolved into WorldCom, a communications giant. Along the way, MFS, Brooks Fiber, and MCI succumbed to Bernie’s guile."

"The next few years proved critical for WorldCom. It failed to accelerate growth while living through the challenges of internal integration and assimilation of disparate corporate cultures. The discovery of financial and accounting irregularities further eroded the faith of the investment community at a fast and furious pace."