MCI Communications Corporation. Office of the President and Chief Operating Officer (Records of V. Orville Wright).

V. Orville Wright joined MCI as senior vice president in May 1975, and in December of that year was appointed Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity he was responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations at MCI for ten years, until his retirement in 1985. After his retirement, he remained on the Board of Directors as vice chairman and served as a consultant to the company. In 1987 Orville Wright returned to serve as Acting Chief Executive Officer to allow William McGowan to concentrate on his recovery from a December 1986 heart attack.

During his tenure with MCI, Orville Wright was instrumental in helping to transform MCI from a small entrepreneurial company to a large corporation. This includes his formalization of company operating procedures in 1975; the regionalization of the company in 1985; the expansion of MCI into new markets such as electronic mail and international voice and message services; and the decision by MCI to shift its marketing and advertising focus from residential customers to large national accounts.