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.
Mark Ayers
Chief Technology Officer
Mark Ayers serves as chief technology officer, leading information technology, planning and construction strategy, and engineering design and execution. Ayers joined Alaska Communications at the start of 2022 as vice president, engineering, planning and construction. Ayers has extensive telecommunications experience having served 20 years at GCI. He is a University of Alaska graduate and a licensed professional engineering in the state of Alaska. Ayers and his wife live in Anchorage with their three children.
Patrick Bergt
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Patrick Bergt leads the company’s legal and human resource functions, which include contract administration, regulatory compliance, regulatory advocacy, risk management, labor relations and other human resource functions.
Bergt is an experienced attorney with civil, criminal, municipal and regulatory experience in matters unique to Alaska. He received his law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California.
He’s a lifelong Alaskan and lives in Anchorage with his wife and two young children. He speaks Spanish and enjoys being outdoors.
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.
Brea Schmidt
Chief Financial Officer
Brea Schmidt serves as Chief Financial Officer, leading the company’s revenue, treasury, and finance departments. Ms. Schmidt joined the company in 2022. She has served in several leadership roles in private equity, most recently as vice president at Freedom 3 Capital, an investment firm that provides structured credit and equity capital. Prior to Freedom 3, Brea worked in private equity at Lone Star Funds and Paceline Equity Partners in Dallas, TX.
Brea holds a B.B.A. in finance and accounting from Washburn University. She was formerly a CFA charterholder and licensed CPA, both of which are currently inactive. She and her husband live in Anchorage with their two children.
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.