OVERLAND PARK, Kan.,
May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/
-- Sprint Corp (NYSE: S) today announced that its
Board of Directors has elevated Marcelo
Claure to Executive Chairman, and appointed Michel Combes to the role of Chief Executive
Officer. In their new roles, Claure and Combes will
collaborate on the continued execution of Sprint's strategy as well
as its planned combination with T-Mobile. Claure, who has
served as CEO since 2014, will remain a part of the Sprint senior
management team. The transition is expected to occur on or
before May 31, 2018.
![Sprint Corp. Logo (PRNewsfoto/Sprint Corp.) Sprint Corp. Logo (PRNewsfoto/Sprint Corp.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/623994/Sprint_Corp_Logo.jpg)
"Marcelo has done a remarkable job of turning around the Sprint
brand and business, driving enhanced network performance,
strong subscriber growth and significant cost
reductions leading to the best financial results in Sprint's
history," said Masayoshi Son,
Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. "Marcelo has
also positioned Sprint as a leader in the race to 5G, which
promises to revolutionize the communications industry. He
will continue to guide Sprint's strategy and momentum as Executive
Chairman through a successful closing with T-Mobile."
"Michel Combes is a proven
industry veteran and the right executive to lead the next
phase of our transformation," said Mr. Claure. "Michel's
tremendous leadership and management skills and his 25 years of
experience will be invaluable as we continue the subscriber
and financial momentum we have."
In connection with these changes, Sprint has initiated a
search for a new Chief Financial Officer.
The Company will consider internal and external
candidates.
Separately, SoftBank Group Corp. today announced that
Marcelo Claure will assume the role
of Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Group Corp. and Chief
Executive Officer at SoftBank Group International. Among his
other duties, Claure will continue to oversee SoftBank's investment
in Sprint and the combined Sprint / T-Mobile company following the
closing of the companies' pending merger. Claure will also be
responsible for creating new opportunities and potential
collaboration between Sprint and SoftBank's portfolio
companies in IoT, automation and artificial intelligence, all areas
where SoftBank is actively investing. This will become
increasingly important as Sprint and T-Mobile together move
aggressively to deploy America's first and leading 5G network.
As previously announced, both Marcelo Claure and
Masayoshi Son will join the Board of Directors of the
newly formed company following the close of
the proposed merger with T-Mobile.
Marcelo Claure is currently CEO of Sprint, a
member of the Board of Directors of SoftBank Group Corp, a member
of the Board of Directors of Arm, and Chairman of CTIA – The
Wireless Association. Since joining Sprint in August 2014, Claure has led the Company's
significant turnaround, including rejuvenating the Company culture
and brand and positioning the Company as a leader in the
race to 5G. Sprint has dramatically improved its products and
services and is increasingly garnering top awards from third-party
experts – including Nielsen, Ookla and RootMetrics – for network
reliability, speed, text and call quality. Sprint has also reversed
course from losing nearly 8,000 customers a day in 2014 to adding
nearly 14,000 a day in the first fiscal quarter of 2017.
Simultaneously, the Company has increased revenue, eliminated
billions of dollars in costs, delivered the largest operating
income of the last 10 years and once again generated free cash
flow. Prior to Sprint, Claure started his first business
– a small retailer of wireless phones – in 1994 and, in
1997, founded Brightstar, which he transformed from a
small, Miami-based wireless
distributor into the world's largest global wireless distribution
and services company with revenues exceeding $10 billion and a presence in more than 50
countries. In 2014, Claure partnered with David
Beckham and Simon Fuller to launch
Miami Beckham United, a venture to establish a Major League Soccer
franchise in Miami. He also currently owns BAISA, which
operates Club Bolivar, Bolivia's
most popular and successful soccer team in national and
international competition. Claure is a Young Global
Leader of the World Economic Forum and a member of Ernst &
Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. In 2016, he
was among 42 individuals selected by the Carnegie Corporation of
New York as part of the "Great
Immigrants: The Pride of America" initiative recognizing notable
contributions to the progress of our society.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance in
1993 and an honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science from
Bentley University in
Massachusetts.
Michel Combes is currently
President and CFO of Sprint and a member of the Sprint
Board of Directors, with more than 25 years of experience in
the telecommunication industry. Prior
to joining Sprint in January
2018, Combes was CEO – and previously chief operating
officer – of Altice, as well as chairman and CEO of SFR Group
and CEO of Alcatel-Lucent. Previously, Combes has served
as CEO of Vodafone Europe, chairman and CEO of TDF Group, as
well as chief financial officer and senior executive vice president
of France Telecom. Combes is a graduate of École
Polytechnique and Télécom ParisTech.
About Sprint:
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications
services company that creates more and better ways to connect
its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint
served 54.6 million connections as of March
31, 2018 and is widely recognized for developing,
engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the
first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands
including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost
Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international
push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet
backbone. Today, Sprint's legacy of innovation and service
continues with an increased investment to dramatically improve
coverage, reliability, and speed across its nationwide network
and commitment to launching the first 5G mobile
network in the U.S. You can learn more and visit Sprint
at www.sprint.com orwww.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
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SOURCE Sprint