Company: NII Holdings, Inc.
Company Description: NII Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile communications for business customers in Latin America. NII Holdings, Inc. has operations in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, offering a fully integrated wireless communications tool with digital cellular service, text/numeric paging, wireless Internet access and Nextel Direct Connect®, a digital two-way radio feature.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Business Turnaround

Nomination Title: NII Holdings, Inc.

Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

                           “A Profitable and Stellar Performer”

The slowdown of the global economy during the past three years severely
impacted the telecommunications industry, and NII Holdings was no exception.
Therefore, its executive leadership sought protection under Chapter 11 to
restructure the company’s debt and renew its operating margin. This was a
challenging decision given its potential to have a detrimental impact on the
company’s business in Latin America, where the meaning of this legal process is
usually translated literally to mean “bancarrota” implying “out of business.”
However, due to the company’s outstanding leadership a successful emergence
from the process was completed in less than nine months.

By November of 2002, the company had achieved an 83% debt reduction and an
additional US$ 190 million in capital. The company had made a long trek from
being a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextel Communications to a fully independent
company with strong operating cash flow growth and a clear companywide focus
on profitability.

The new company’s strategic direction resulted in a dramatic turnaround and
stellar financial performance - $250MM improvement year over year in EBITDA
(from negative $100MM to positive $150MM in just one year) on only a $100MM lift in revenues and a $700MM year over year improvement in free cash flow. 

For three consecutive quarters since, NII Holdings has achieved solid financial
results. In fact, the company became profitable during the 1Q 2003, and achieved
a $440MM swing for the first six months 2003 vs. 2002.

Its strong performance is clearly demonstrated by its share price history. Since
trading began in November 2002 at US$ 5.50, it reached an all time high of US$
70.00 in September making it one of the index’s star performers, and the best
performing stock during 1Q 2003 according to Forbes Magazine.

Financial analysts have taken note of NII’s impressive turn-around. Morgan
Stanley, for instance, has given the company an Overweight rating with a price
target of US$77.00 per share citing the stock’s appreciation of more than 420%
YTD, and attributing it to its solid operating performance and its advantage over
competitors due to an exclusive focus on business users based on a differentiated
product. 

NII Holdings, Inc. has also shown exemplary business operations in-market. All of
the company’s subsidiaries have retained customers and employees, and
reflected improvements in churn and customer and employee satisfaction during
the past three years. Nextel Argentina rated as the #1 wireless company in
customer satisfaction by an annual survey conducted by Mercado Magazine, a
leading industry publication; and Nextel Peru was recently rated as the best place
to work by El Comercio newspaper.

Moreover, the company launched an international Direct Connect service between
the US and Mexico, made possible by a cross-border spectrum sharing
agreement with Nextel Communications, Inc, allowing both Nextel and NII
customers to take advantage of its services across the border.  Accolades
received in the region this year include: “Mobile Operator of the Year in Latin
America Award” by Pyramid Research.

In one year, NII Holdings, Inc. has transformed itself from a company undergoing a
challenging financial restructuring process to a star performer, becoming a great
turn-around success story because of its visionary leadership team, highly
motivated employee base, differentiated product offering and sound business plan.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

                                   Making Headlines in 2003

The following clips illustrate NII Holdings’ extraordinary transformation from a
business unit to an independent company with a solid business plan and a stellar
financial performance during 2003.

• Steven Shindler of NII Holdings: Nextel's overseas connection,
Institutional Investor, November 7, 2003
• Nextel Latin America Offspring Pushes Cross-Border Plan, Dow Jones
Newswire, October 2003
• Direct Connect available across the border, RCR News, September 9,
2003
• Reborn Nextel International Unit Focuses On Latin American Links,
Investor’s Business Daily, September, 2003
• NII Holdings earns up on revenue, subscriber growth, Reuters, July 30,
2003
• NII Posts Higher Sales Amid Restructuring: Reston Wireless Carrier
Filed for Chapter 11 in May, Exited in November, The Washington Post, February
13, 2003
• Technology Briefing Telecommunications: NII Holdings Posts 18% Rise
In Revenue, The New York Times, February 13, 2003

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

                                      Steven M. Shindler
                        Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Steven Shindler serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NII Holdings,
Inc. providing strategic direction and leadership to the company’s management
team. 

Shindler joined Nextel Communications, Inc. in 1996 as Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer, a position he held until November 2000.  In March
2000, he was named Chief Executive Officer for Nextel International, Inc. (now NII Holdings).   Prior to joining Nextel Communications, he served as Managing
Director of Communications Finance at the Toronto Dominion Bank, one of the
largest suppliers of capital to the wireless community. 

Mr. Shindler is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he earned a
Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and received a Masters degree in Business
Administration from Cornell University.  He is also the proud recipient of the 2000
Excellence Award from CFO magazine, where he was recognized for his
leadership in the category of capital structure management.