Sprint Friday announced that it will bring on a new head of networks from Japanese parent company Softbank.
According to a press release Junichi Miyakawa has been named to the newly created position of Technical Chief Operating Officer, effective tomorrow. Miyakawa led Softbank’s network operations.
Miyakawa will oversee the company’s network and technology organization, including related strategy, network operations and performance. He will also lead its relationships with key network equipment vendors and will report directly to Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.
Sprint’s current Chief Technology Officer Stephen Bye and John Saw, Sprint’s Chief Network Office, will both continue leading their divisions but will now report to Miyakawa.
Claure touted Miyakawa’s effectiveness in building out Softbank’s network.
“Miyakawa-san transformed the SoftBank network in Japan and I’m confident that his expertise and leadership will help us do the same thing for Sprint customers,” Claure said in a statement. “We already have made substantial progress on the Sprint network and it is performing better every day. He will work directly with our network team as we continue to build out our network to take advantage of our strong and unique spectrum position.”
Shares of Sprint were down just under 1 percent in afternoon trading to $5.95.
