Sprint PCS president Len Lauer added the title of president and chief operating officer of Sprint Corp., where he will lead the company’s sales, marketing and customer care operations. Sprint added that Lauer will also direct the transformation of the company’s operations from its current product-based differentiation to serving either the business or consumer market segments.
Lauer was named president of Sprint PCS last October following the resignation of Charles Levine and has led the carrier’s focus on acquiring higher quality customers and reducing churn, which dropped from 3.8 percent during the third quarter of 2002 to 2.4 percent during the second quarter of this year.
“Len Lauer understands the marketplace,” said Gary Forsee, chairman and chief executive officer of Sprint. “He has led our long-distance unit, and PCS is operating on a sturdy foundation built by Len and the PCS team over the past year. With this extensive operations experience, along with his marketing and sales background, he will be a driving force in making the transformation successful.”
Analysts noted the move could signal another push by Sprint to recombine its currently separately traded FON and PCS stock, which Sprint management has hinted it would like to accomplish. Investors were mixed on the news with Sprint’s stock up nearly 1 percent in early Wednesday trading to $14.97 per share, while Sprint PCS’ stock was down more than 1 percent to $5.67 per share.
