Crossing Ltd. yesterday named its fourth chief executive in its brief history after Leo Hindery stepped aside after just seven months in the job.

Hamilton-headquartered Global Crossing said Vice Chairman Thomas Casey would succeed Hindery, a former AT&T Corp. executive lured to Global Crossing last December to head its GlobalCenter Web-hosting business. Hindery became CEO in March after Bob Annunziata, another former AT&T executive, resigned unexpectedly after just 13 months as CEO.

After the announcement, Global Crossing shares fell more than 15 percent to a 21-month low of $20-1/8. For the day, the stock closed down $2-7/16, more than 10 percent, at $21-7/16 on Nasdaq.

Casey, 48, moved quickly to assure jittery investors he would not be another short-time CEO and that the management change would not hurt the company's results.

"I am intending to be the CEO for the future,'' Casey told analysts, investors and reporters on a conference call following his appointment. "My intention is to stay here for the rest of my career.'' Casey, an attorney who became vice chairman in 1998, also expects the company to meet or exceed its recently increased projections for third-quarter and full-year earnings.

Global Crossing is "well positioned for 2001 and beyond,'' he said.

Gary Winnick, who founded Global Crossing about three-and- a-half years ago, will continue as its chairman, the company said.

"With the pending merger of GlobalCenter, the Board and I believe Tom Casey is the ideal executive to help us take full advantage of Global Crossing's unique market opportunity,'' Winnick said.

Hindery, who said he had "serendipitously'' accepted the CEO post earlier this year, left the job by "mutual agreement,'' the company said. In the conference call, he described Casey as having been his "strong partner like no other'' during his brief tenure at the helm and said: "No one is more qualified or capable than Tom'' to be CEO.

Hindery plans to stay aboard as head of GlobalCenter until Global Crossing completes the sale of the business to Exodus Communications Inc. for $6.5 billion later this year.

Hindery, the former head of AT&T's cable television operations, stands to make a huge personal windfall on the sale of GlobalCenter. He has options allowing him to realise 5.5 percent of the value of GlobalCenter over $2 billion -- about $250 million based on the terms of the Exodus transaction.

"I have done what I set out to do at Global Crossing -- improve operating management and rationalise operating assets, realise the value of Global Center, and meet or exceed quarterly financial goals,'' Hindery said in a statement.

Salomon Smith Barney analyst Jack Grubman said in a research note that Hindery's departure is not surprising given he was brought on board principally to maximise the value of GlobalCenter. Grubman also said Hindery leaves the company in capable hands.

"We believe the management team... is more talented than investors realise,'' Grubman said.

In addition to being vice chairman, Casey is a director, and a member of Global Crossing's Office of the Chairman.

He previously served as co-head of the global telecommunications investment banking group at Merrill Lynch, and co-head of the worldwide telecommunications legal practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He also spent six years as a lawyer for the federal government -- three with the Federal Communications Commission and three with the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

One caller on the conference call voiced concern Casey's background was principally in law and with a major US brokerage rather than in telecom operations, prompting the caller to ask if Casey's appointment was part of a plan to put the company up for sale.

Casey responded he was not being put in place merely to steer the company toward an acquisition and he would spearhead the company's effort to focus on becoming a leader in global high-speed data transmission services.

Still, were Global Crossing to be sold in a merger deal in the near future, it would not be a surprise, analysts said.

"Many companies in their position are built to be sold,'' independent telecommunications analyst Jeffrey Kagan said. "I am not saying they are, but I wouldn't be surprised.'' In response to another question, Casey said he did not anticipate any additional major acquisitions or dispositions following the company's recent deals to sell GlobalCenter to Exodus and its local telephone business to Citizens Communications Co. for $3.65 billion.

Casey said he was "confident'' the company would be able to beat the guidance it provided in August of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of between $435 million and $440 million for the third quarter and of about $1.725 billion in adjusted EBITDA for the year.

Wall Street analysts on average expect Global Crossing to report a loss of 71 cents per share in the third quarter and a loss of $2.56 per share for the year, according to research firm First Call/Thomson Financial. A year earlier it had a third-quarter loss of 7 cents per share and a full-year loss of 37 cents per share.