MCI has announced the latest in a round of changes among its corporate top brass with the appointment of Richard Roscitt as president and chief operating officer, reporting to chairman and chief executive Michael Capellas.

Roscitt's arrival comes hot on the heels of a number of senior management appointments made by Capellas since his appointment last November.

They include Robert Blakely as executive vice president and chief financial officer; Anastasia Kelly, executive vice president and general counsel; Daniel Casaccia, executive vice president of human resources and Grace Chen Trent, senior vice president and chief of staff.

The troubled telco described these appointments as "actively rebuilding" its management team and board of directors.

Roscitt, who has over 30 years' experience in the telecoms sector, officially starts at MCI on 1 September.

He is currently chairman and chief executive of ADC Telecommunications, which he joined in January 2001, but to date has not brought back to profit. Before that he was a president at AT&T.

Roscitt will oversee MCI's core operating units and will be based in the company's corporate headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia.

"I am confident that Rick's leadership, energy and telecom experience will serve MCI well as we emerge from Chapter 11," said Capellas.

"He knows our customers and our business and will fit with MCI's new culture: one focused on customer service, innovation and integrity."

Roscitt said: "Having competed against MCI, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the company, its management team, its capabilities and the spirit and determination of its 55,000 employees."

Meanwhile, Scott Sullivan, the disgraced former chief financial officer under MCI's previous regime and WorldCom name, is lobbying to reduce his potential maximum sentence from 24 to 12 years.

He wants the judge in his case to use the more lenient sentencing guidelines from 2000, when he is alleged to have committed securities fraud, rather than those introduced in 2001 and 2002.