By Nina Trentmann and Tatyana Shumsky 

Sprint Corp. has named Andrew Davies, a veteran European telecommunications executive, as its new chief financial officer.

Mr. Davies most recently was finance chief at Amsterdam-based telecommunications firm Veon Ltd., a role he has held for four years. Before that, he spent over a decade with Vodafone Group PLC.

Mr. Davies succeeds Michel Combes, who was promoted as chief executive of the Overland Park, Kansas, telecom in May. He joined the company in January as CFO ahead of the announcement of the $26 billion merger with T-Mobile US Inc. Mr. Combes was previously chief executive at Altice NV, a Netherlands-based telecommunications company.

"Andrew has significant experience in the telecommunications industry here in America and around the world, making him an invaluable addition to Sprint's leadership team," Mr. Combes said in a statement. "He has helped to lead companies through transformational periods and is the perfect fit to strengthen our leadership team for the next phase of our transformation."

Mr. Davies' appointment comes at a vulnerable juncture for Sprint. Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure on Thursday defended its merger plans, telling Congress that the No. 4 wireless provider in the U.S. has struggled to break even.

At Veon, Mr. Davies oversaw the introduction of new finance and back-office systems, improve the transparency of the company formerly known as VimpelCom Ltd. The Amsterdam-based renamed itself in 2017 after it agreed to pay a fine to U.S. and Dutch regulators to settle allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes to a government official in Uzbekistan.

He made changes to the company's debt structure by extending maturities and adjusting the currency mix. During his tenure, Veon spent over $50 billion on mergers, acquisitions and other transactions.

At Vodafone, Mr. Davies served as CFO for the Verizon Wireless business unit -- at the time a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone -- and for Vodafone's India and Turkey entities.

Write to Nina Trentmann at Nina.Trentmann@wsj.com and Tatyana Shumsky at tatyana.shumsky@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2018 12:21 ET (16:21 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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