LightSquared’s convoluted path continued to twist today as the company announced its CEO Sanjiv Ahuja was leaving stepping down from that position, though was continuing as chairman of the board. Current chief network operator Doug Smith and CFO Marc Montagner were tapped to be interim co-CEOs while the company looks to find a new leader.
LightSquared also announced that chief financial backer Philip Falcone has been appointed to the company’s board.
Ahuja took the stage at the CTIA show last year to tout LightSquared’s plans for launching a wholesale LTE network, noting the carrier would likely need $14 billion in funding through the end of the decade.
Despite the upheaval, which follows up its recent inability to gain access to its spectrum assets and the announcement of significant job cuts, LightSquared said it remains committed to finding a solution to its spectrum issues and plans to build out a wholesale LTE network. Those issues center on interference with some GPS systems that has prevented the FCC from granting LightSquared access to its spectrum.
Montagner was brought on board at LightSquared early this year, and has an extensive history in the merger and acquisition space. Falcone, who is also CEO of Harbinger Partners, is said to be running out of patience in funding LightSquared, while the company has repeatedly said it had sufficient financial backing to remain in business for “several quarters.”
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