Following a week of speculation, WorldCom Friday made it official: the down-and-out telco signed former Hewlett-Packard President and Chief Operating Officer Michael D. Capellas as its new chairman and CEO

Capellas left HP Monday after seeing through HP's merger with Compaq. "I took this job because I am convinced that WorldCom has the assets, the customers and the people to regain a leadership role in this industry," Capellas said in a statement Friday morning. Capellas added, "Today we are launching a new company, one that will reclaim the strengths of its past and focus on a promising future." "I remember when this company was founded with a vision of convergence of computers and the Internet. WorldCom has always been on the forefront of this trend and will continue to lead it," he said. WorldCom is under intense scrutiny by regulators, and the Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its civil fraud complaints against the bankrupt telecommunications firm last week after it said it might have to restate about $9 billion in revenue.