Sprint is owned by Japanese SoftBank, which has global ambitions
The CEO of Sprint on Monday traveled to Japan to meet with higher-ups from parent company SoftBank Corp., which is repositioning itself as a global business.
Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure was hired in September 2013 by SoftBank founder Masahyoshi Son to oversee Sprint, which SoftBank controls.
Claure took to Twitter on Monday to share that he’s on his way to Japan “to visit my big boss and finalize our new network plan!!”
SoftBank owns 80% of Sprint. On July 1, the company will change its name to SoftBank Group Corp., from SoftBank Corp., “to clearly identify its role as a holding company driving future global development, with all assets that are owned and managed by the group.”
From a SoftBank company announcement, the goal is “transformation from a strong Japanese business with global assets, to a global business which will strive to create sustainable growth for the very long-term.”
“Many tech companies face a decline after 30 years due to evolving technologies, changing business models and overreliance on founders,” Son said in a statement.
“To create a sustainable growth business for centuries to come, we must transform our current operating assets and take a systematic approach to supporting our group of disruptive engineers.”
Another component of the SoftBank transition is promotion of former Google exec Nikesh Arora from the vice chairman role to chairman and CEO effective June 19.
Intense competition among domestic U.S. carriers has made the turnaround of Sprint a costly challenge for SoftBank, which is increasingly looking oversees for revenue due to a somewhat slow-moving Japanese economy.
Sprint posted quarterly results last week showing an addition of 1.2 million subscribers, along with highlights including acquisition of more than 1,400 co-branded Radio Shack locations and the launch of a program that will deliver devices straight to customers.
“I am proud of the team for successfully executing the first phase of our strategy to stop the decline in customers. We are now one-quarter into the second phase, focusing on attracting more quality customers, retaining our customers through a better customer experience and continuously improving the network,” Claure said.
“As a result, Sprint platform net additions were the highest in nearly three years, postpaid churn dropped by 46 basis points sequentially, and the network received more awards in major markets,” he said, “all of which will position the company for profitable growth.”
