New official won't affect NASCAR sponsorship
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sprint Nextel officials say the hiring of the company's new president and chief executive officer will not affect its sponsorship of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The company announced Tuesday that Dan Hesse will serve as president and CEO, effective immediately. Hesse previously served as president and CEO of Embarq Corp.
Nextel began sponsoring NASCAR's top series in 2004, and a merger with Sprint will bring about a name change next season: The Sprint Cup Series.
"Dan is returning to Sprint Nextel with a familiarity of the business and our NASCAR sponsorship and will be able to hit the ground running," said Tim Kelly, chief marketing officer for Sprint. "He is passionate about directly interacting with Sprint Nextel's business partners, and we are extremely pleased that he will be leading our company during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sponsorship."
Hesse spent 23 yeas at AT&T, serving as president of that company's wireless division from 1997-2000. He also worked as CEO of Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division for one year before the spin-off that created Embarq.
