Sprint names Tarek Robbiati new CFO, updates technology team

Sprint on Monday named a new chief financial officer with a background in reshaping companies as the mobile provider tries to improve its competitive edge.

Tarek Robbiati, 50, is taking over as chief financial officer. Robbiati worked most recently as the managing director and CEO of FlexiGroup Ltd., an Australian consumer finance company specializing in leasing. He also has held leadership positions at Telstra Corp, an Australian telecommunications company.

Sprint Corp. said that its current CFO, Joseph Euteneuer, will leave the Overland Park, Kansas, company following a transfer of responsibilities.

The company also said that Günther Ottendorfer, 46, is joining the company as chief operating officer, leading a newly created technology office. Ottendorfer previously served as chief technology officer and a board member for Telekom Austria Group and managing director of Optus Singtel in Sydney Australia. As part of these changes, John Saw, Sprint's chief network officer, has been promoted to chief technology officer.

Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. cellphone carrier behind Verizon and AT&T, has been working to find a niche in the competitive industry. It has slashed prices for customers who leave their existing carrier and earlier this year it tested out a service to get phone delivery of a phone and setup in a consumer's home.

In after-hours trading, the stock shed 8 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $3.26.