Company: Sprint, Overland Park, Kansas
Company Description: Sprint is a Fortune 100 company offering a wide range of communications solutions. With more than $27 billion in annual revenues, Sprint is recognized for state-of-the-art network technologies like the first U.S. nationwide all-digital, fiber- optic network; an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone; and one of the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS networks in the U.S.
Nomination Category: Company, Office & Product Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Business Turnaround

Nomination Title: Sprint

   1. Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Over its more than 100-year history, Sprint has developed and deployed a rich
base of communications assets – from wireless to wireline, voice to data, local to
long-distance, domestic to international.
 
To fully realize the combined benefit of these assets, starting in the summer of
2003 and taking full effect in 2004, Sprint transformed its organization from a
product-centric structure to one mirroring customer segments and needs. Now,
instead of marketing along product lines like wireless or long-distance, Sprint
markets its full suites of products directly to businesses and consumers.
 
From executives to linemen, Sprint reevaluated its organization and listened to the
needs and wants of its customers. As a result, Sprint integrated its network
operations, product development, marketing, sales and support organizations to
present a single face to the customer and bring its vision for total communications
solutions to market.
 
These changes set Sprint apart from all other telecommunications providers and
provided it a distinct competitive advantage in the marketplace, an advantage it
used to both redefine the customer experience and create substantial value for its
shareholders through solid operational and financial performance.
 
Redefining the customer experience:
* The Sprint PCS Fair & Flexible Plan: The wireless industry’s first pricing plan
available to customers nationwide adjusts automatically to meet customers’
month-to-month usage.
* The Sprint PCS Better Wireless Guarantee: Sprint’s commitment to ensuring
that customers are completely satisfied includes a phone-upgrade program,
satisfaction guarantee and a right-plan guarantee.
* Wireless Service Level Agreements: These industry-first agreements with
business wireless customers offer credits of up to 30 percent for service problems
above a standard level.
 
Financial strength:
* Sprint’s reported consolidated revenues for 2004 were $27.4 billion, a 5%
increase compared to 2003 and a sharp contrast with many other telecom
companies who reported flat-to-negative revenue growth.
* In the fourth quarter 2004, more than 50 percent of Sprint’s revenue was from
wireless, with growth occurring in both the consumer and business customer sets.
If results from other growth areas of the industry, specifically DSL and
Internet and data, are also included, then the revenue contribution is nearly 65 percent, up from
61 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003.
* Equity value increased 71 percent in 2004, far outpacing every major telecom
competitor and significantly outdistancing the major indices.
* Net Debt was reduced 40 percent over the last 24 months.
 
Along the way, Sprint also continued to be a market leader in product innovation
and took actions to move to the top of the industry in corporate governance.
 
The success of Sprint’s transformation was not lost on leading media outlets and
industry analysts. In a Sept. 27, 2004, story called “Sprint to the Head of the
Pack,” BusinessWeek said Sprint has gone “From Also-Ran to Front-Runner”
and “has emerged as one of telecom’s strongest players.” Gartner said, “Sprint
has the most thorough integration story of any carrier encompassing product
development.”

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

Sprint 4Q04 Quarterly Review:
http://www4.sprint.com/servlet/whitepapers/dbdownload/4q04_quarterlyreview.pdf?table=whp_item_file&blob=item_file&keyname=item_id&keyvalue=%275ib26rg%27

IDC Analyst Report on Sprint Transformation:
http://www4.sprint.com/servlet/whitepapers/dbdownload/idc_sprint_transformation.pdf?table=whp_item_file&blob=item_file&keyname=item_id&keyvalue=%271wmua2m%27

Sprint’s Corporate Governance Web Site: http://www.sprint.com/governance

Sprint to the Head of the Pack (BusinessWeek story, subscription required):
http://www.businessweek.com/@@94JbsYUQARABjgsA/magazine/content/04_39/
b3901089_mz063.htm

Sprint Draws on Strengths to Stay in the Race (USA Today story):
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2004-08-01-insana_x.htm

Top of the Heap (Kansas City Star story):
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/10073107.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Forsee Talks Telecom (Network World story):
http://www4.sprint.com/servlet/whitepapers/dbdownload/1_5735708_eprint.pdf?table=whp_item_file&blob=item_file&keyname=item_id&keyvalue=%273f3353u%27

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:

Gary D. Forsee, a 30-year veteran of the telecommunications industry, is
chairman and CEO of Sprint. He has been designated CEO and president of Sprint
Nextel when that merger closes (expected later in 2005). Under Forsee’s
leadership, Sprint has emerged as one of the industry’s strongest competitors.
BusinessWeek recognized him as one of the 19 best managers of 2004. Prior to
being named to his current position in 2003, Forsee was vice chairman of
BellSouth Corporation, where he also chaired the Cingular Wireless joint venture.
He previously held executive positions at Sprint, AT&T and Southwestern Bell.