Forsee Out at Sprint; Interim Executives in Place

Oct 08, 09:50 PM

Current Headlines: KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Gary Forsee, chairman and chief executive officer of Sprint Nextel Corp., resigned Monday afternoon.

James Hance Jr., a member of the Sprint board of directors, will take on the role of non-executive chairman. Paul Saleh, chief financial officer, will serve as acting CEO until a permanent replacement is named.

"The board's search for selecting its next chief executive will focus on candidates outside the company," said Irvine O. Hockaday, who has served as the lead independent director on the Sprint board. "We fully expect that the search will be concluded in a timely manner and we are focused on selecting the right candidate to guide the company to achieve its full potential."

Continuing integration stumbles and a disappointing financial performance motivated Sprint's board to seek a new executive for the nation's No. 3 wireless company.

Sprint's stock is down at least 3 percent so far this year.

Before the announcement, Sprint shares closed at $18.50, down 50 cents.

The company also announced today that it expected to report a net loss of 337,000 post-paid subscribers in the third quarter. Consolidated operating revenue for 2007 also is expected to be slightly below the range of previous guidance of $41 billion to $42 billion.

Sprint Nextel will release its third-quarter financial results Nov. 1.

Relational Investors of San Diego reportedly has been increasing its holdings of Sprint stock and pushing for changes in the company's strategy. Ralph Whitworth, founder and principal of the investment fund, has encouraged Sprint to sell off portions of the company's technology and take steps to resume substantial growth.

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