Meet Our Management Team
Our Management Team holds the vital role of representing the interests of our employees, customers, and our communities.
As a result, we as a company are empowered to do what is right for our customers and community. We strive to provide excellent service, innovative solutions and value our work.
Meet the Management Team of Alaska Communications who help inspire these values and lead by example.
Bill Bishop
President & Chief Executive Officer
Bill Bishop serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Alaska Communications, overseeing and providing executive level leadership for all strategic and business operations.
Mr. Bishop joined Alaska Communications in August 2004 and has served in several leadership roles in consumer and business sales and operations, including senior vice president of customer and revenue management, chief operations officer and most recently, interim president and CEO.
Mr. Bishop brings more than 25 years of telecom and business leadership experience to Alaska Communications, including positions at AT&T, McCaw Communications, and a federal government logistics contracting company. Being a long time Alaskan, Mr. Bishop has served with many statewide volunteer activities and currently serves on the board of directors for the US Telecom Association and as former chairman of the board for Alaska Business Week. Mr. Bishop holds a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences from University of Alaska Anchorage. He and his wife Deena live in Anchorage and have three grown children.
Laurie Butcher
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Butcher brings more than 30 years of finance expertise to Alaska Communications, including roles in public accounting at Price Waterhouse and Deloitte & Touche and as controller for Teamsters Local 959. Ms. Butcher serves as a management trustee for the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund and is on the board of directors for the United Way of Anchorage. A lifelong Alaskan, she holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Alaska and is a licensed CPA.
Sandy Knechtel
Chief Operations Officer
Sandy Knechtel serves as chief operations officer (COO) of Alaska Communications, leading and supporting operations, opportunity management, sales, product and strategy, marketing and information technology.
He most recently served as area manager for Alaska and Hawaii for Gartner, a global research and advisory company. Under his leadership at Gartner, he helped significantly grow its business in these markets.
Prior to Gartner, Knechtel served in various management roles for Alaska Communications, spanning sales operations, workforce development and marketing and analytics.
Knechtel has a MBA in marketing and strategy from Indiana University Bloomington. He also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western University. He serves on the board for Alaska Business Week, a nonprofit organization focused on teaching business and leadership to high school students.
He and his wife live in Anchorage with their four children. They enjoy camping, fishing, hiking and getting outside to enjoy our great state.
Our Advisory Board
Meet Our Advisory Board Team
Comprised of Alaskans, the Alaska Communications Advisory Board brings unique community and customer perspectives to guide decision making. Together with the leadership team, the Advisory Board evaluates the needs of Alaska businesses and consumers, identifies new opportunities, serves as the eyes and ears in the community, acts as ambassadors for Alaska Communications, supports business development and creates dialog with community members and business and political leaders.