W. Frank Blount

W. Frank Blount is the chairman and CEO of venture capital firm JI Ventures, Inc.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Blount served as chairman and CEO of Cypress Communications Inc. (telecommunications) and director and CEO of Telstra Corporation Limited (telecommunications). He is also a director at Adtran, Inc.; Alcatel S.A.; Caterpillar Inc.; Entergy Corporation; and Hanson plc. Mr. Blount has been a director of Caterpillar since 1995.

In 1999 Mr. Blount became affiliated with The Jordan Company, L.P., a private investment firm that specializes in buying and building businesses in partnership with management. Up to 1999 he served as Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Corporation in Australia and Group President of AT&T Corp. Mr. Blount currently serves as a director of Caterpillar, Inc., Entergy Inc., Hanson PLC., Adtran, Inc. and Alcatel, Inc.

Mr. Blount received his SM (master's degree) in Management Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an M.B.A. from Georgia State University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech.