WORLDCOM HIRES SPECIALISTS

WorldCom Inc. Hired two principals from AlixPartners LLC, a Southfield, Mich., corporate restructuring firm, to head up the troubled telecom's turnaround. John Dubel will serve as CFO of Clinton, Miss.-based WorldCom and Gregory Rayburn as its chief restructuring officer. WorldCom admitted to incorrectly accounting for $7.2 billion in expenses and has filed for bankruptcy protection. Dubel replaces former CFO Scott Sullivan, who was charged with securities fraud in August along with former controller David Myers. Dubel ran his own turnaround firm before joining AlixPartners this year and served as COO and chief restructuring officer at CellNet Data Systems Inc.

Randall Eisenberg, president of the Turnaround Management Association and a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, says turnaround experts have special skills in dealing with "potential liquidity issues" and the "strained relationships with lenders, bondholders and other stakeholders" typical in such cases.