Sprint needs marketing, turnaround expert as CEO

By Ritsuko Ando -Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If U.S. wireless service provider Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is looking for a new CEO, as media reports have said, it needs a savvy marketer with a turnaround track record if it is to win back Wall Street's confidence, analysts say.

Sprint needs new management to stem customer defections, solve technical problems, and produce a more exciting line-up of mobile phones, they said on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on its Web site on Thursday that Sprint's board had "quietly" begun searching for a replacement for Chief Executive Gary Forsee.

Sprint has declined to comment on the reports and Forsee was not available to comment.

"First, they really need someone with background in consumer-oriented marketing," said Stanford Group analyst Michael Nelson. "Second, someone who is a turnaround specialist. The company has extremely valuable assets. It's about putting the right strategy in place."

The third-biggest U.S. wireless carrier has had a hard time positioning itself against bigger rivals AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Verizon Wireless, which tout high-quality voice services.

The smaller T-Mobile pitches itself as a low-cost alternative for the youth market.

Sprint has been losing customers, in part due to technical problems and difficulties integrating its 2005 acquisition of Nextel Communications, and in August it upset investors by warning of more defections in the third quarter.