Sprint CEO Gets the Sack

Floundering wireless carrier to find replacement by December
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2007 12:37 PM CDT
Sprint CEO Gets the Sack
In a file photo passers-by walk past a Sprint Store in Boston, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 . SKprint Nextel Corp. sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers June 29, saying the company's records showed they had made frequent calls for help with questions about billing and other account information. The...   (Associated Press)

Sprint CEO Gary Forsee is getting canned, the Wall Street Journal reports, as America’s number three carrier struggles to find an identity. Earlier this week activist investor Ralph Whitworth called for Forsee’s head, but it had been on the chopping block since August, Journal sources say. Sprint's net income dropped to $19m this quarter, from to $370m last year.

Shares rose $0.22 after-hours on the news. Forsee has had the top job since 2003, and notably oversaw the acquisition of Nextel. Since then, he has bet heavily on WiMax, the as-yet-unrealized high speed wi-fi technology that might payoff long term, but isn’t helping the bottom line. Sprint hopes to replace Forsee by December, but early candidates have demurred. (More Sprint Nextel stories.)

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