According to an internal email obtained by RCR Wireless News, Sprint is making major changes to its organizational structure that CEO Marcelo Claure says are intended to “reduce management layers and bring leadership closer to the customer.”
Last week COO of Technology Günther Ottendorfer announced that he was leaving the company to spend more time with his family in Austria and pursue other career opportunities. Ottendorfer’s move came in the aftermath of discussions between Sprint parent company SoftBank and T-Mobile US parent Deutsche Telekom regarding a potential merger.
Based on the email, which carried the subject line “#gettingbettereveryday: organizational changes,” Claure is reducing his number of direct reports from 16 to nine. Excerpted from the email, “We’re announcing a new, simpler organizational structure that will reduce management layers and bring leadership closer to the customer. This will also increase partners’ accountability and streamline decision-making. The new structure will enable us to improve the customer experience, increase partner engagement, and bring new ideas to market faster than ever before.”
Claure’s direct reports are now:
- Ismat Aziz, chief human resources officer
- Nestor Cano, chief operating officer
- Kevin Crull, chief strategy officer
- Dow Draper, chief commercial officer
- Jan Geldmacher, president, Sprint Business
- Jorge Gracia, chief legal officer
- Tarek Robbiati, chief financial officer
- John Saw, chief technology officer
- Christina Sternberg, chief administrative officer
In addition to the shift in reporting structure, Sprint’s executive team is physically relocating to redesigned office space at the company’s Overland Park, Kansas, headquarters.
According to Claure, “We also need a more modern and collaborative work environment so partners can bring their best to work every day. That’s why we’re designing and implementing new, more modern workspaces where high-performing teams can achieve their goals. These new workspaces are designed to make it easier for teams to collaborate. Collaboration fuels innovation, and I believe that teams working side-by-side can accomplish anything.”
