Daniel R. Hesse (born c. 1953) is the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Sprint Corporation. In January 2016, Hesse joined the board of directors for PNC Financial Services where he chairs the Technology Subcommittee. He was elected to the board of directors for Akamai Technologies in August 2016 and named as Chairman in June 2021. On October 20, 2022, Hesse was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for his contributions to the wireless industry and efforts in sustainability and corporate responsibility.

Early life and education

Hesse's father was a career army officer. As a result, Hesse attended 8 different schools between first grade in Italy and graduating from Stuttgart American High School in Germany. He received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in government and international studies in 1975, an MBA from the

Johnson Graduate School of Management The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six List of Ivy League business schools ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1977, and Master's of Science from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (branded as MIT Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree progra ...

as a Sloan Fellow in 1989.

Career

AT&T

Hesse spent 23 years at

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

where he started out as an intern. From 1991 to 1995, he was president and CEO of AT&T Network Systems International based in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He launched the online division's AT&T Worldnet service in February 1996, which introduced unlimited internet dial up for $20/month for subscribers to AT&T's long-distance services. In May 1997, he became chief executive officer of

AT&T Wireless AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. Formed in April 2000 as Cingular Wireless LLC, It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless serv ...

. In 1998, Hesse oversaw the launch of AT&T's Digital One Rate. During this time, Hesse was named 1998's Wireless Industry Person of the Year RCR Magazine.

Terabeam Corporation

From March 2000 to June 2004, Hesse was CEO and chairman of Terabeam Corporation.

Embarq Corporation

In June 2005, Hesse joined Sprint and oversaw the spinoff of its landline division into a separate public company–

Embarq Corporation Embarq Corporation was the largest independent local exchange carrier in the United States (below the Baby Bells), serving customers in 18 states and providing local, long-distance, high-speed data and wireless services to residential and busin ...

. Hesse was the President and CEO of Embarq from May 2006 until December 2007.

Sprint

Hesse was named CEO of Sprint Nextel on December 17, 2007. During his tenure, Hesse appeared in ten television commercials for the company. The black and white ads, created by

Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (also known as GSP) is an advertising agency based in San Francisco. History The agency was founded on April 15, 1983 as Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein by Jeff Goodby, Andy Berlin and Rich Silverstein. Andy Berlin l ...

, were filmed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Hesse joined Sprint as the company was losing customers following the merger with Nextel. His strategy to stem further losses included improved customer service, an increased emphasis on prepaid cell phones, a deal with

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

to sell

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

s, and a 4G presence investment/ownership stake in

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMA ...

-provider

Clearwire Clearwire Corporation (stylized as clearw˙re) was a telecommunications operator which provided mobile and fixed wireless broadband communications services to retail and wholesale customers in the United States, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Ir ...

. He also added retail stores across the nation in an attempt for increased in-person customer service. During Hesse's tenure, Sprint went from last place to first in the wireless industry in customer satisfaction according to JD Power and the

American Customer Satisfaction Index The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the United States, U.S. Economic system, economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI LLC) base ...

(ACSI). During this period, Sprint was recognized 20 times for excellence in customer service by JD Power. In 2014, the ACSI recognized Sprint as the most improved US company in customer satisfaction over the previous six years among all 43 industries studied. During his last two full calendar years as CEO, Sprint's total shareholder return ranked #1 among all S&P 500 companies. Corporate Responsibility Magazine recognized Hesse with the Corporate Responsibility Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Hesse was also named a Top Rated CEO on Glassdoor and one of five "Best Turnaround CEOs of All Time" by Fierce Wireless." The

American India Foundation The American India Foundation (AIF, founded 2001) is a nonprofit American organization working in India. It is one of the largest secular, non-partisan American organizations supporting development work in India. It also runs the ServiceCorps Fel ...

honored Hesse for Excellence in Corporate Leadership and Philanthropy in 2014. Hesse led the acquisition of 80 percent of Sprint by

Softbank is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...

in July 2013 and remained for a year to complete the transition. On August 6, 2014 Sprint announced that Hesse would be succeeded by

Marcelo Claure Raul Marcelo Claure Bedoya is a Bolivian-American technology entrepreneur, businessman, and investor. He is the founder and CEO of Claure Group, the Executive Chairman of Bicycle Capital, and Group Vice Chairman for Shein. Claure founded ...

, founder of

Brightstar Corporation Likewize (formerly Brightstar Corp.) is a privately held American corporation founded in 1997 that operates in over 30 countries today. The company offers insurance, warranty, repair, trade-in, recycling, and tech support to telcos, banks, carrier ...

. Hesse is on the boards of directors for the following organizations: * The National Board of Governors of the

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, has i ...

* The JUST Capital Foundation * PNC Financial Services, where Hesse chairs the Technology Subcommittee * Akamai Technologies, Chairman, board member

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse, Dan 1953 births University of Notre Dame alumni Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management alumni MIT Sloan School of Management alumni MIT Sloan Fellows AT&T people Sprint Corporation people Lumen Technologies American technology chief executives Living people American telecommunications industry businesspeople