| Page 2 of 3 < > |
Hesse Takes Charge at Sprint Nextel
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
A move to Sprint's original headquarters would not solve the company's problems, Piecyk said.
"The problems run so deep at Sprint that it will take most of 2008 just to stabilize things, let alone improve them," he said.
Hesse's telecom experience will be an asset to Sprint as it tries to regain its footing, according to some analysts and former colleagues. He spent more than 20 years at AT&T, including three years as chief executive of its wireless unit, which AT&T bought from Craig McCaw, an early Nextel investor, in 1994.
Even before cellphones were widely used, Hesse earned a reputation for having a keen eye for industry trends and neat gadgets that would resonate with customers, said James W. Cicconi, an AT&T senior vice president who joined the company during Hesse's tenure.
"He's good at looking over the horizon and spotting trends to see where they're likely to carry an industry," Cicconi said. "He recognized the importance of the cool factor in a device."
Cicconi, who heads AT&T's government affairs operation in Washington, called Hesse an "apostle of device innovation" and recalled Hesse coming to meetings with a briefcase full of the latest cellphones and gadgets to pass around the table.
Hesse is best known in the industry for spearheading the Digital One Rate plan, which eliminated roaming and long-distance fees. Hesse's plan sold cellphone minutes in bulk at a flat fee in an effort to simplify the business and encourage cellphone use. Other carriers followed his lead.
"Dan's the guy that remade the mobile industry," said Tom Wheeler, who ran the wireless industry's trade organization, CTIA, when Hesse worked at AT&T. "He can look at what others have already looked at and see something completely different."
In 2000, Hesse became chairman and chief executive of Terabeam, a Redmond, Wash., wireless start-up that merged with another wireless company, YDI Wireless in Falls Church, in 2004.
Robert E. Fitzgerald, who worked with Hesse on the merger and is now chief executive of Proxim Wireless, noted that Hesse stands 6 feet 5 inches tall, giving him a striking presence.
Fitzgerald recalled arriving early with Hesse to a meeting with wireless company Clearwire, which is in the same building as AT&T in Seattle. To kill time, the two went to the AT&T cafeteria. It took 45 minutes to walk across the room.
"Everyone knows him and everyone wants to talk to him," Fitzgerald said. "That's Dan, the mayor."
