Sprint Nextel names Embarq’s Hesse as CEO (USA)

Sprint Nextel’s board of directors has named mobile industry veteran Daniel R Hesse as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately. Hesse also joins Sprint Nextel’s board of directors. He previously was chairman, president and CEO of Embarq, Sprint’s spun-off fixed-line business. Hesse had been chairman and CEO since Embarq’s inception in 2006. Prior to the formation of Embarq, he served as CEO of Sprint’s local telecommunications division for one year. Hesse previously spent 23 years at AT&T including serving as the president and CEO of AT&T Wireless Services between 1997 and 2000. Meanwhile, Embarq has appointed Tom A Gerke, senior telecommunications executive and Embarq’s current general counsel, as interim chief executive officer, effective 18 December. Bill Owens, Embarq’s lead director, has been named non-executive chairman of the board.

In connection with Hesse’s joining Sprint Nextel, Embarq and Sprint Nextel have reached an agreement which Embarq believes to be financially and strategically beneficial and in the best interests of Embarq’s shareholders. Gerke has spent 13 years of his 22 year professional career in the telecommunications industry and, in January 2007, assumed responsibility for Embarq’s wholesale markets business unit. Before joining Embarq, he held leadership roles at Sprint Nextel, including executive vice president and general counsel during April 2003 to August 2005. Gerke joined Sprint Nextel in 1994.

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