SoftBank Group, the owner of the US telecom operator Sprint, announced that Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure will be the new chief operating officer of SoftBank.
Sprint, the fourth largest telecom operator in the U.S., announced the appointment of Michel Combes as chief executive officer and Marcelo Claure as executive chairman.
Marcelo Claure, who has served as CEO of Sprint since 2014, will remain a part of the Sprint senior management team and will assist in the merger with T-Mobile. T-Mobile is buying Sprint for $26 billion amid concerns among wireless subscribers about the future of wireless pricing plans.
Marcelo Claure will work with Masayoshi Son and Rajeev Misra in managing the operations of SoftBank’s global portfolio of companies. Marcelo Claure will be responsible for ensuring that all group companies and investments are meeting the financial and operating objectives, as well as managing group synergies and transformations.
Marcelo Claure will also be responsible for SoftBank’s ongoing investment in Sprint and the combined Sprint-T-Mobile company.
Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank Group, said: “Sprint in fiscal year 2017 delivered the best financials in the company’s history. He has fulfilled my vision of combining Sprint with T-Mobile.”
Sprint financial report indicates that Sprint has 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. The wireless operator has increased revenue, eliminated costs, delivered the largest operating income of the last 10 years and once again generated free cash flow.
