Sprint Nextel hires new CFO
Sprint Nextel on Thursday announced that is has tapped former Eastman Kodak executive Robert Brust, 64, to be its next chief financial officer.
Robert Brust, CFO, Sprint Nextel
(Credit: Sprint Nextel)The beleaguered wireless carrier, which hired a new CEO at the end of last year, has made several management changes as it tries to get its business back on track. It has been struggling to retain customers since its 2005 merger with Nextel.
In January, Sprint said it was searching for a new finance chief. Company controller William Arendt has been acting as interim CFO since Paul Saleh left that position in January.
Brust has a long career as a CFO. Most recently, he was CFO from 2000 until 2007 at Kodak, where he was part of a team that helped the company transition its business to more digital photography.
Before joining Kodak, he worked at Unisys. And prior to that, Brust served as CFO of General Electric for 31 years.
Brust's compensation package for the first two years is worth about $6.25 million, which includes salary and bonuses but excludes stock option compensation. As part of this package, his base salary is $1 million a year. And should Sprint meet its goals, Brust stands to get an additional $1.3 million in short-term bonuses. His signing bonus for taking the job is $1.65 million.
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. 
