Prior to his current position, Salerno had served as vice chairman of NYNEX and president - Worldwide Services since March 1991.

A native New Yorker, Salerno joined New York Telephone in 1965 and was elected vice president in 1983, when he directed the divestiture of the company from the Bell System. In 1985 he was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer of New England Telephone. In 1987 Salerno was appointed president and chief executive officer of New York Telephone.

In addition to serving as a member of the board of NYNEX, Salerno also sits on the boards of AVNET, Inc., Bear Stearns Company, Inc., Viacom, Inc., and Orange and Rockland Utilities.

An active participant in support of community and educational issues, Salerno was appointed in 1990 by former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to the chairmanship of the board of trustees of the State University of New York. He is a trustee of the Inner-City Scholarship Fund and has served as chairman of the Archdiocese of New York's Partnership for Quality Education Campaign. Salerno serves on the boards of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a national housing and community development group, and the International Center of Photography.

In 1988 he was named chairman of the Temporary State Commission on the Distribution of State Aid to Local School Districts by Gov. Cuomo, and in 1994 Salerno was appointed a member of the World Telecommunications Advisory Council of the International Telecommunication Union. In 1995 Salerno was named a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Business Committee.

Salerno is a member of the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta and serves on the board of governors of the Columbus Citizens Foundation. He is also a member of the Westchester Country Club and the Blind Brook Country Club.

He received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College and a master of business administration degree from Adelphi University.

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