NEW YORK (
Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp named Embarq Corp CEO Dan Hesse as its new president and chief executive on Tuesday, hoping the telecom veteran can help the No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider turn around its business.
Hesse, 54, is already familiar with Sprint, having worked at the company's local phone service division for a year before it was spun off to create Embarq. Embarq named its general counsel, Tom Gerke, as interim CEO.
Analysts had speculated that Hesse could be tapped to replace Gary Forsee, who resigned as Sprint CEO in October after the company posted more than a year of customer losses and ceded market share to rivals such as AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless.
Sprint shares rose 2 percent to $14.20 in pre-market trading while Embarq shares rose nearly 1 percent to $48.10.
Hesse had been chairman and CEO of Embarq since its inception in 2006. Prior to Embarq, he served as CEO of Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division for a year before the spin-off that created Embarq.
Hesse also spent 23 years at AT&T, including acting as president and CEO of AT&T Wireless Services from 1997 to 2000. Embarq said that in connection with Hesse joining Sprint, the two companies have reached an agreement that is "financially and strategically beneficial" to Embarq shareholders. It did not elaborate.