After five years at Sprint’s helm, CEO Dan Hesse’s effectiveness is being called into question. While Hesse and his team have managed to stall subscriber defection, revenue continues to decline. With flops in Clearwire, WiMAX, LightSquared and a risky $15.5 billion gamble on Apple’s iPhone, Sprint investors fear the CEO may not have what it takes to lead the company against AT&T and Verizon Wireless in an industry that regulators fear has already grown too concentrated. Big investors have voiced strong concerns that the company’s management, led by Hesse, isn’t up to the job, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Dragos Stefanescu, a director for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, sharply criticized Mr. Hesse at a lunch meeting in Boston last year, voicing his concerns about Sprint’s complicated network plan. The Journal’s sources, however, claim that the board remains confident in Hesse, though their close watch over every move the CEO makes suggests otherwise. “The board has been stunningly engaged,” one person said. “It sort of has to be because the company’s not doing well.”

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Apple has named Arthur D. Levinson as chairman of the board, filling the role that Steve Jobs held previously. Additionally, Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company has joined as a board member. Apple’s full press release is after the break. 

Apple Names Arthur D. Levinson Chairman of the Board
Robert A. Iger, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, Joins Apple’s Board

CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov 15, 2011 — Apple today named Arthur D. Levinson, Ph. D. as the Company’s non-executive Chairman of the Board. Levinson has been a co-lead director of Apple’s board since 2005, has served on all three board committees–audit and finance, nominating and corporate governance, and compensation–and will continue to serve on the audit committee. Apple also announced that Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, will join Apple’s board and will serve on the audit committee.

“Art has made enormous contributions to Apple since he joined the board in 2000,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “He has been our longest serving co-lead director, and his insight and leadership are incredibly valuable to Apple, our employees and our shareholders.”

“Bob and I have gotten to know one another very well over the past few years and on behalf of the entire board, we think he is going to make an extraordinary addition to our already very strong board,” said Tim Cook. “His strategic vision for Disney is based on three fundamentals: generating the best creative content possible, fostering innovation and utilizing the latest technology, and expanding into new markets around the world which makes him a great fit for Apple.”

“I am honored to be named chairman of Apple’s board and welcome Bob to our team,” said Art Levinson. “Apple is always focused on out-innovating itself through the delivery of truly innovative products that simplify and improve our lives, and that is something I am very proud to be a part of.”

“Apple has achieved unprecedented success by consistently creating high quality, truly innovative products, and I am extremely pleased to join the board of such a wonderful company,” said Bob Iger. “Over the years, I have come to know and admire the management team, now ably led by Tim Cook, and I am confident they have the leadership and vision to ensure Apple’s continued momentum and success.”

Levinson is chairman of Genentech, Inc. and a member of the Roche Board of Directors. He joined Genentech as a research scientist in 1980, and served as Genentech’s Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2009. He is also a director of Amyris, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Levinson currently serves on the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Advisory Council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. He has authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific articles and has been a named inventor on 11 United States patents. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Levinson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington and earned a doctorate in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton University.

Iger is the steward of the world’s largest media company and some of the most respected and beloved brands around the globe. He has built on Disney’s rich history of unforgettable storytelling, with the acquisition of Pixar (2006) and Marvel (2009), two of the entertainment industry’s greatest storytellers. Always one to embrace new technology, Iger has made Disney an industry leader at the forefront of offering its creative content across new and multiple platforms. He is a member of the board of directors for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. He became a board member of the US-China Business Council in June 2011. In June 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him to the President’s Export Council, which advises the president on how to promote US exports, jobs and growth. He is also a member of the Partnership for a New American Economy, a coalition of mayors and business leaders from across the United States that support comprehensive immigration reform. Iger is a graduate of Ithaca College.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Apple’s board of directors has been in informal talks with executive recruiting firms and has been discussing a successor to CEO Steve Jobs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Reportedly, the board has also met and talked with “at least one” head of a “high-profile tech company” as a possible successor, although it’s unclear who that person is. The Wall Street Journal also noted that it wasn’t immediately clear if Steve Jobs had been aware of the search or if Apple has been looking behind his back, though he emailed The Wall Street Journal in response to their questions about the discussions: “I think it’s hogwash.” Steve Jobs has been on medical leave from the Cupertino-based firm since January of this year.

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Despite agreeing to address concerns over the shared Co-CEO and Co-Chariman roles held by Research In Motion bosses Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, the company again finds itself in hot water after a report from proxy advisor Glass Lewis & Co. was obtained by Bloomberg on Thursday. RIM announced in June that it would assemble a committee of independent directors to study the CEO and board roles, and then make recommendations as to whether or not the company should consider splitting the CEO and Chairman roles Balsillie and Lazaridis each currently hold. In its report, Glass Lewis wrote that the move was merely a stall tactic used to get Northwest & Ethical Investments LP to withdraw a motion it intended to put forward at RIM’s July shareholder meeting. “The appointment of independent board leadership does not require further study, but rather concrete action,” Glass Lewis analysts noted in their report. “While we commend the board for actively engaging with NEI in an attempt to reach a mutually agreeable solution, we are underwhelmed with the board’s continued avoidance of a commitment to appoint an independent chairman.”

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Clearwire on Thursday announced that CEO and director of the board Bill Morrow will resign effective immediately. Morrow cites personal reasons for his resignation and he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company while the interim CEO, chairman of the board John Stanton, transitions into his new role. “I would like to commend Bill for his tremendous leadership in building the first U.S. 4G network, adding more than 5 million subscribers, and raising funds in a challenging economic environment,” Stanton said in a statement. “Bill built a strong leadership team which enables us to promote Erik Prusch and Hope Cochran to new roles. Together, the entire management team at Clearwire remains focused on delivering value to its customers and shareholders.” Two other top Clearwire executives, Chief Information Officer Kevin Hart and Chief Commercial Officer Mike Sievert, will be leaving the company as well. Hit the break for the full press release.

Clearwire Names Chairman John Stanton as Interim CEO

Kirkland, Wash., March 10, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR), a leading provider of 4G wireless broadband services in the U.S., today announced changes to the company’s executive leadership team.

John Stanton, chairman of Clearwire’s board of directors and former CEO of Western Wireless and VoiceStream Wireless, has been named CEO of Clearwire on an interim basis, effective immediately. Stanton will continue to serve in his role as board chairman.

Stanton replaces Bill Morrow who has resigned as CEO and as a director of the board, citing personal reasons. Morrow will continue to serve as an advisor to the company during the transition period. The company has appointed a search committee, chaired by board member Dennis Hersch, to lead the hiring process for a new CEO.

“I would like to commend Bill for his tremendous leadership in building the first U.S. 4G network, adding more than 5 million subscribers, and raising funds in a challenging economic environment,” said John Stanton. “Bill built a strong leadership team which enables us to promote Erik Prusch and Hope Cochran to new roles. Together, the entire management team at Clearwire remains focused on delivering value to its customers and shareholders.”

Other Executive Appointments

As part of today’s announcement, Erik Prusch, Clearwire’s CFO, has been promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO). In this position, Prusch will be responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations, including wholesale and retail sales, marketing, customer service, supply chain, human resources, IT and network operations. In addition, Hope Cochran, Clearwire’s senior vice president and treasurer, has been promoted to the position of CFO. Cochran will be responsible for all of the company’s financial and investor related functions, including overseeing Clearwire’s ongoing fundraising efforts.

The company also announced that Mike Sievert, chief commercial officer, and Kevin Hart, CIO, are both leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Both Sievert and Hart will remain with the company for a transition period. “We thank Mike and Kevin for their service and contributions during an incredible period of growth for Clearwire, and we wish them continued success in the future,” said Stanton.

Today’s changes in executive leadership are not expected to impact the company’s progress on an agreement with Sprint to resolve wholesale pricing disputes. Clearwire believes that an agreement with Sprint is imminent.

Stanton has held numerous leadership positions during his career in the wireless industry. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Trilogy Partnerships including Trilogy International Partners which operates wireless systems in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bolivia and New Zealand. Stanton served as chairman and CEO of Western Wireless Corporation from 1992 until its acquisition by ALLTEL Corporation in 2005. From 1994 to 2003, Stanton served as chairman and CEO of VoiceStream Wireless Corporation, which was sold to Deutsche Telecom and became T-Mobile USA.

A popular topic of discussion lately in every corner of the Web has been Eric Schmidt’s position on Apple’s Board of Directors and the many possible conflicts it now presents. While opinions have varied, most take the stance that Google’s business has begun to overlap with Apple’s in too many key areas and as such, Schmidt’s role with the company is no longer appropriate. Well, the debate is over. Apparently, Google’s CEO and the Cupertino crew finally came to their senses. Steve “Thanks for Picking Our Brains and then Trying to Eat Our Lunch” Jobs had this to say:

Eric has been an excellent Board member for Apple, investing his valuable time, talent, passion and wisdom to help make Apple successful. Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board.

So long Dr. S, you will be missed — unless Chrome OS somehow manages to beat the odds and outreach OS X’s market share at some point down the road. Then we imagine pretty much no one at Apple will miss you.

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Since the passing of founder and CEO Ted Rogers in early December, Rogers Communications, which owns both Rogers Wireless and Fido, the sole two GSM carriers in Canada, has been without a permanent leader until a couple days ago when the Board of Directors appointed 52-year old Nadir Mohamed as the CEO. Said Alan Horn, Chairman and interim CEO prior to the appoint of Mohamed:

Nadir was the unanimous choice of our Board of Directors to succeed Ted as RCI’s President and CEO. He is a highly regarded, principled telecom executive who has the demonstrated ability to build and lead strong teams and to consistently deliver strong results. Over the past eight years Nadir has earned the respect of our Board, our employees and the investment community. The Board believes Nadir’s skills, experience, track record and firm understanding of the industry uniquely position him to lead Rogers through the next chapter in its history. We all congratulate Nadir and look forward to working with him in his expanded leadership role.

So just what is Mohamed’s priority as he begins his time as CEO?

Looking forward, we will build upon this solid foundation by driving continuous improvements to our customer experience, by improving the efficiency of our operations through cost and capital management, and by delivering innovations and deploying leading edge technologies to meet the changing needs of our customers. With our strategy and asset base both firmly set, I look forward to working together with our Board, management and employees in leading Rogers through its next era and continuing to create significant value for our customers and shareholders.

Okay, it’s pretty much your average boilerplate statement, but seeing as Mohamed has a reputation of being quite the aggressive and cunning businessman, we actually believe that he will deliver on his word.

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