New Sprint CEO Axes Top of Executive Tree

Dan Hesse Sprint's S (NYSE) new CEO has begun to show his hand with a management shakeup at the top as well as overall. He has quickly stepped up to the plate and made some difficult but necessary first decisions. Early today, Sprint announced that three top executives would be leaving the company - Paul Saleh, CFO (Saleh served as interim CEO after Fossee the previous CEO was finally forced out), Tim Kelly, CMO and Mark Angelino, president sales & distribution. Hesse in the press release indicated he would work to find permanent replacements for these executives. In the interim, controller, William G. Arendt will serve as acting CFO, John Garcia, SVP of product development and management will serve as acting CMO and Paget Alves, regional president for sales and distribution will be acting president of sales and distribution.

The three major executive changes come shortly after the company announced plans to layoff nearly 4,000 employees and close 125 of its retail stores as a response to the firm's hemorraghing subscriber base and declining share price.

Shareholders who continue to see their investment decline in value can at least see a ray of hope for the future. Hesse has taken charge. He has already made moves to begin the effort to turn the ship around. As I said in my earlier posts, the real question is whether there still is enough time left to turn things around and whether strategy decisions and their execution will be sufficient to save Sprint-Nextel.

Stay tuned more big changes can be expected. Rumors continue that Sprint may lower its prices to gain new subscribers. A strategy which in itself might be more problematic than just going forward as they now stand.

CEO Watch - Sprint Nextel Update 3, New CEO Appointed

Sprint Nextel Corp S (NYSE) selected Embarq Corp EQ (NYSE) CEO Dan Hesse as its new president and chief executive. Hesse, 54, is somewhat familiar with Sprint. He worked at the company's local phone service division for a year before it was spun off to create Embarq. A number of analysts considered Hesse a potential candidate to replace Gary Forsee, who resigned as Sprint CEO in October. Forsee left the firm after the company bled customers for more than a year and lost market share to rivals.

Hesse's appointment seems to have been a safe choice. It's unclear whether safe is exactly what Sprint really needs at the moment. At least the waiting is over and the company can now start to move on to make the necessary decisions to try and get itself back on track. Hesse's appointment comes after it became known that Sprint rejected a $5 billion offer after it had been approached by former Sprint Chairman Tim Donahue, South Korea's SK Telecom Co Ltd and Providence Equity Partners.

Investors need to keep an extremely close eye on Hesse and his team as we move forward. Sprint remains in trouble and we will just have wait and see what the new management can do to reverse the firm's problems.

For more:

CNN Money
Red Herring
Bloomberg
Deal Journal
Barron's Tech Trader Online
ComputerWorld
Kansas City Business Journal
BusinessWeek
Kansas City Star
TheStreet.com
24/7 Wall Street
CNET
Endgadget

Latest TV Interview on Key CEO Turnovers

Earlier today, I was interviewed Pat Bolland on the Business News Network. The TV interview focused on the problems facing CitiGroup's CEO, Chuck Prince, the recent ouster of Sprint's CEO, Gary Forsee and the accounting-related scandal that resulted in the recent resignation of Alex Lidow, CEO of International Rectifier.

If you wish to view the interview click here or go to BNN and scroll down to today's interview which took place around 10:05 AM EST.

For more on Forsee's Exit from Sprint see:

Kansas City Star

CEO Watch - Gary Forsee, Sprint Nextel Update

Leslie Cauley in USA Today reported earlier today,

"Sprint, reeling from news reports that it is searching for a new CEO, plans to announce that its chairman and CEO, Gary Forsee, is stepping down, according to people familiar with the board's plans.

Sprint, which could announce Forsee's departure as early as Monday, plans to appoint an interim successor until a permanent replacement can be found, these same sources said. They declined to be identified by name or affiliation because no official announcement has been made by Sprint."

The question remains can a new management turn things around quickly enough? This specific issue was briefly covered by Monica Alleven in today's Wireless Week in Review.

Stay tuned as Sprint navigates into new and unsettling waters.

For more:

SEC Investor
WSJ Deal Journal

CEO Watch - Gary Forsee Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel remains mum on speculation that its Chairman and CEO, Gary Forsee may be on the chopping block. Forsee has been under the gun for sometime now as Sprint has continued to lag behind its main competitors. With Sprint's recent crap shoot on Wimax technology more and more shareholders (activists in particular) are expressing their growing concerns. The Wall Street Journal on its website Thursday afternoon:

... quoted unidentified people familiar with the situation, that Sprint Nextel's board had begun quietly talking to industry leaders for a successor and hoped to announce a selection by early December.

The real question remains, who could Sprint-Nextel come up with that could do a better job. If you have any ideas, let us know.

For more:

Information Week
Bloomberg Update1
International Herald Tribune
CNN Money
Deal Journal (suggested possibilities)

Sprint Nextel Hires Strategic Planner To Help Direct Ship

Sprint Nextel S (NYSE), the current weak sister of the major wireless carriers, today announced the hiring of Keith Cowan to serve as president, strategic planning and corporate initiatives. The hiring comes as pressure continues to grow on Sprint's top management. Cowan's appointment is a recognition by the company that it needs to get new blood and ideas into its strategic planning process. Management hopes it can find ways to get shareholders in a better frame of mind on the company's future. Cowan appears to be a good pick. He has had extensive experience previously working for BellSouth for over ten years where at one time he was in charge of planning and most recently, was executive vice president for Genuine Parts, an automotive supplier.

Sprint's CEO,Gary D. Forsee said,

"Keith is a results-oriented individual and will be a strong addition to the Sprint Nextel leadership team,...He has a track record of performance in communications and technology that will be a tremendous asset to our company as we continue to seek ways to unlock shareholder value."

Keep a close eye on Sprint Nextel's strategic plans going forward.