LightSquared said its chief executive and an executive vice president stepped down, part of a management shakeup after a tumultuous period that has forced the multibillion-dollar wireless venture to rethink its strategy about rolling out a new fourth-generation network.

Sanjiv Ahuja left the CEO post this month after working without a contract since July, according to people familiar with the situation. Martin Harriman, the executive vice president of ecosystem development and satellite business also left the company, said one of the people. Ahuja will remain chairman and billionaire Philip Falcone, whose Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund is LightSquared's principal backer, will join the board to assist in the search for a new CEO.

LightSquared faces an uncertain future. The Federal Communications Commission this month said it would revoke a waiver that would allow the company to use satellite airwaves for a terrestrial network because of concerns the network may interfere with Global Positioning System signals.

The company has said it is the victim of biased testing and said GPS device manufacturers should be required to pay for filters to protect their equipment from signal interference. In the meantime, it is considering a plan to swap its wireless airwaves, or spectrum, with some held by the Defense Department as a last-ditch effort to resolve the GPS interference concerns.

Chief Network Officer Doug Smith and Chief Financial Officer Marc Montagner were named interim co-chief operating officers as LightSquared undertakes the search for a new CEO.

A spokesman for LightSquared declined to comment on whom the company was considering for the position.

Harbinger last year told investors that it lost 47% of the value in its biggest fund because of a markdown in the value of LightSquared. The losses helped cause Harbinger's firmwide assets to plunge to $4 billion, from a high of $26 billion in 2008. Investors have been barred from pulling their money from Harbinger for months.

Harbinger, of New York, also is facing a lawsuit from investors seeking a return of funds they lost as a result of the LightSquared investment.

The company received the conditional FCC waiver last year and hoped to compete with AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless and others in selling spectrum wholesale to wireless carriers. LightSquared has said it has enough money to operate for several quarters, though it hasn't given specifics.

-By Greg Bensinger, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4676; greg.bensinger@dowjones.com

--Nathalie Tadena contributed to this article.

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