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.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
Sprint would be in much better shape if they could secure some decent phones at release.
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)
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.
;o)
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!
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
- by Gatorjk April 12, 2009 10:02 AM PDT
- 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...
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(22 Comments)Sprint Jerks!