Sprint Nextel is a brand in trouble. It is losing money and customers at an alarming rate. Its CEO, Gary Forsee, stepped down in 2007 and received a compensation package of more than $21 million. Forsee’s replacement, Dan Hesse, received a compensation package of more than $27 million. At least these two gentlemen fared better than Sprint Nextel, which lost $29 million in 2006. Forsee’s settlement with the company includes a monthly payment of abou $84,000… for life. This generous compensation for top executives comes at a time when Sprint expects to lose 2 million customers this year.
This picture is totally out of focus. Sprint Nextel has been mired in massive customer service problems since the merger of Sprint and Nextel. The exorbitant compensation packages handed out in the face of a dwindling customer base and plummeting financial value have to devastating to employee morale. Also, the mix of lavish CEO pay and struggling customer service does nothing to endear the brand in the minds of existing customers and people who might be in the market for wireless services. Hopefully, company leadership can right the ship with customers and return sanity to the management of financial resources. Otherwise, this brand faces the prospect of becoming irrelevant in the marketplace. Link
