Following last nights abandonment of the T-Mobile purchase by Sprint and parent SoftBank, the carrier has announced that Dan Hesse will step down from his post as CEO since replacing Gary Forsee in 2007 and overseeing many of Sprint key changes, such as the launch of Mobile WiMax, beginning the move to flat-rate prepaid service with Boost Mobile and beginning the transition away from the iDEN network.
New Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure
Sprint has named Marcelo Claure as President and CEO of the company, who replaces Dan Hesse. Claure has already served on Sprint’s board of directors, and is the Founder/CEO of Brightstar Corp, a distribution company focused on mobile hardware with SoftBank owning a majority stake in the company and completing the purchase of outstanding shares with the appointment. Claure will resign from his CEO position at Brightstar on August 11. Dan Hesse will depart Sprint on August 11 and Claure will be based at Sprint headquarters in Overland Park.
Outgoing CEO Dan Hesse made the following statement following the announcement:
“I’m proud of the resilience of Sprint’s people during a difficult transformation and I’m optimistic about how they will build on a foundation of innovation to succeed in the future,” Hesse said. “It’s been an honor to have led such dedicated teammates for more than six-and-a-half years. Marcelo has been a great addition to Sprint’s Board and his entrepreneurial background, business savvy, industry experience and strong relationship with Masayoshi Son make Marcelo an excellent choice to lead Sprint going forward.”
