23 who laughed at the recession

CenturyTel changed its name to CenturyLink.

CEO since 1990: Glen F. Post, III, CEO

After completing its $11 billion acquisition of Embarq and jettisoning its old CenturyTel moniker, CenturyLink now stands as the nation's fourth-largest phone carrier.

Last year sales increased 91%, to $5 billion, and profits leapt 77%, to $647 million.

Today, CEO Glen Post now presides over 23,000 miles of fiber and is racing to sign up high-speed Internet customers faster than his dial-up users ditch their landlines.

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