RESTON, Va.—In the second departure of a high-ranking leader within the past two months, Sprint Nextel Corp. announced that Chairman Tim Donahue is retiring from the company’s board of directors. Meanwhile, several investment companies have downgraded their rating of Sprint Nextel stock.
Donahue’s retirement will be effective Dec. 31, and a new chairman will be named at a later date. Robert “Dob” Bennett, former president and chief executive officer of Liberty Media, has been added to the Sprint Nextel board, effective immediately. Bennett is currently president of Discovery Holding Co., a Liberty spin-off.
Sprint Nextel President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee said that he and Donahue would “work with the board and the management team to ensure a seamless transition as he retires at the end of the year.”
“I have poured my heart and soul into Sprint Nextel and I am confident that the promise of the merger will be realized,” Donahue, 57, said. “Instead of being in the thick of the action, it’s time for me to start cheering Sprint Nextel along from the sidelines.”
Sprint Nextel’s stock price has been in a slow slide since spring, when the company announced it fired Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer.
Indeed, the company’s stock has been downgraded by a sizable list of investment companies, most recently by UBS; on Monday, UBS changed its Sprint Nextel stock recommendation from “buy” to “neutral.”
