Sprint's CEO awarded $2.6 million bonus

Sprint Nextel's CEO is getting a big bonus for 2008, despite the fact that the beleaguered cell phone operator is still losing customers.

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse

(Credit: Sprint Nextel)

A proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed this week shows that CEO Dan Hesse will receive a bonus of $2.6 million for 2008, which is about 30 percent higher than his targeted payout, according to The Wall Street Journal. Hesse's total compensation package is valued at $15.5 million, including a base salary of $1.2 million and equity grants.

The proxy also indicates that Hesse received additional corporate perks valued at around $288,000, including a $173,801 contribution to his 401(k); $91,462 for security; and $21,965 for other expenses that included use of the corporate jet.

Hesse also has a pretty nice golden parachute that guarantees him about $10.1 million if he is terminated without cause. And if the company is bought and he is booted as CEO, Hesse stands to gain $10.7 million, according to the filing.

Hesse's hefty bonus and compensation package come at a time when Sprint is unprofitable and still losing customers. For 2008, the company reported a net loss of $2.8 billion and a loss of some 4.6 million customers.

Hesse, 55, took over as CEO at the end of 2007 after the company forced out its previous CEO. From the start, Hesse has had an uphill battle. The company has steadily been losing customers as subscribers complain of poor service. And it faced one of the worst reputations for customer service in the cell phone industry.

Hesse has concentrated a lot of time, effort, and money to improving the company's customer care and public image. He has even appeared as the star in several Sprint commercials as the company tries to reshape its image.

A Sprint spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that Sprint has seen some improvements under Hesse. Some of these improvements include increased customer call resolution, $1 billion in cost cutting, and renegotiated credit agreements that will provide Sprint more financial flexibility.

[humanssssss]

The number doesn't seem logically consistent. Do you mean $2.6 MILLION instead of BILLION? The fact that this is so commonly confused is coming to the point of ridiculousness ... as if people don't understand the scale of certain numbers.

[ChrisOh806]

Marguerite is obviously not too bright. 2.6 billion is incorrect and in any other person, logic should've kicked in and told them to double check that figure.

[baggyguy1218]

Another CEO becoming a BILLIONAIRE after doing nothing. I want to be a CEO....I can do nothing.

[bigwillieb88]

baggyguy1218, well you are wrong, sprints CEO has made a lot of changes to sprint. I know that with in the last year customer service has improved. They have better plans, better overall service. Plus, there cell phone line up, it is great. So, I can see sprint doing better in the next few years b/c of the CEO.

[another_cissp]

I guess the real story here is that sprint has 2.6 billion to give out. I am glad I am not a shareholder.

[wfctexas]

I checked this out on WSJ.com, it is 2.6 million. the whole reason I clicked on the story was because of the headline 2.6 billion bonus. I guess, if nothing else, typos like that drive site hits.

[erock1974]

Yes, I believe it should be million. That is an awful, awful photo of Hesse. He looks much better in the tv commercials. Here he looks like a bad real estate salesman.

[Mehboob Alam]

2.6 million is chump change, and he looks like one.. 2.6 billion, now THAT's news!!!

[bj1126]

As a Sprint Blackberry customer for the last year I have had amazing support. If he's responsible for that then he deserves every bit of that bonus.

Sprint would be in much better shape if they could secure some decent phones at release.

[muzakaz]

Sprint sucks. They destroyed Nextel.

Bonus. The only thing anyone over there deserves, is a bone up the wah-hoolie banger.

pathetic. the continue to lose customers, because people are tired of getting the run around at their call centers in India.
(reading their script)

[pissedofftoday]

You must be one of those idiot Nextel employees. Everyone knows Sprint started going down hill as soon as they bought Nextel. The IDEN network sucks and Nextel's management spends money like they have a printing press in the back room.

[JimPratt3]

Just another in a string of stories posted here on CNET with zero proofreading. Shameful.

[sharmajunior]

Crap coverage, worthless service...what else do you need?

Most of the illegals use the service, get a phone without a SSN and loot the hell out of customers.

Ofcourse they are gonna lose customers. I not too worried about the CEO getting a 3 million dollar bonus. He could have all of the profit as a bonus for all i care.

[jimmyhoops]

Double check your web browser title....Billion, Million, Trillion...I know it's confusing but what's a couple extra zeros???

;o)

[ivaskaj]

If you want to make big bucks like that, then stop ******** and moaning and go to school. Get educated. Put forth the tremendous effort that is required to become the CEO of a huge company. Work hard. Don't sit around waiting for the government to give you my money, while blowing all your cash on lottery and cigarettes only to pull out your damn food stamp card to get cokes and candy at the store. Slackers. There is no hope. With all this wealth envy, we will be a socialist nation in under a year, and we have nobody to blame but the government and it's hideous "free" education that I'm paying for with my stolen tax dollars.

[Eballs]

Obama needs to make him give back his bonus and salary. Just because he went to many years of school and is in charge of a major company doesn't mean he should be making more than someone making french fries!!! Please Lord God Obama bring justice to us all!!!!!! AMEN!

[davesax1]

I can't believe the comments are about the typo. Its time to end this whole compensation largess nonsense. Its irresponsible on the part of the board and an abdication of responsibility by the SEC to allow these levels of compensation at the expense of the shareholders. NONE of these guys are worth 500K, let alone a mill or more. Its time to say ENOUGH is ENOUGH. BTW - I don't own Sprint stock nor am I a subscriber.

[joerickx]

The Sprint stockholders deserve everything they get from this sorry transaction. If the shareholders think that giving a guy a bonus for helping to trash their company is ok, then it's ok with me too! It's your money not mine. This guy and every other shyster who has grabbed control of Sprint has milked it for every penny they could make and driven it further into the ditch. I hope the you people who still subscribe to Sprint a year from now are happy with the 4G service when you're both still calling each other. And I hope that the Sprint stockholders get a warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that their former CEO's are laughing all the way to their Caribbean bank.

[alhaqq]

I personally think sprint is on an upswing. I don't have numbers or anything to back this, but I have been a sprint customer for over a yr now and have never had any trouble with them. It's just a gut feeling. I'm rooting for them (and the pre)

For a company with billions in earnings, a 3 million bonus doesn't seem superfluous. The man is only the Chief Executive.

And for all these comments about the typo -- wow, take a chill pill people, I guess no one on these message boards ever has to hit the 'backspace' button!

[lordeagle]

Dude I totally call the April's Fools joke!

Hesse is a breath of fresh air for Sprint. It was his predecessor, Forsee< who screwed it up. Just think of these big companies like supertankers, drive it hard at the beach and replace the man at the helm when it is under full steam. The new captain cant turn it around on a dime. It takes time and patience.

Now, I am unhappy to see his bonus at a time that they just laid me off. Sure it hurts but I respect the man and his convictions and I fully expect Sprint to be one of the shining lights in the cellular industry in the next 24 months

[Gatorjk]

Those Sprint $&*#@&s! Hey by cutting 8000 jobs, they must have had some money laying around, so the gave the CEO a bonus...I cannot put into words how much I hate Sprint! So what do you tell your family...sorry kids, they laid me off, so they can Hesse a bonus. Don't worry we'll hopefully make the house payments and get food...but what's most important is Dan Hesse and his family is not loosing sleep and we don't want that...do we...

Sprint Jerks!