Clearwire CEO leaves for 'personal reasons'
updated 05:05 pm EST, Thu March 10, 2011
Clearwire CEO Morrow out
Clearwire raised concerns about its financial state on Thursday as company CEO Bill Morrow resigned both from the top spot and as director of the board. He didn't give more than "personal reasons." Board chairman John Stanton (pictured) would take over on an interim level while Morrow would be on tap as an advisor while the 4G company looked for a permanent CEO replacement.
The exit may be due to the lack of progress in turning Clearwire around. Its network costs have been expensive to where it has been selling debt to raise cash. It ultimately dropped its retail stores altogether as it couldn't justify the cost while it was still trying to roll out its own network.
Sprint has publicly remained loyal, but the company has been increasingly been exploring options that wouldn't tie its fate to a company on uncertain grounds. Leaks have had it talking to LightSquared in what could involve a switch to LTE for 4G, and Sprint has even been rumored buying T-Mobile USA in a move that could quickly spell the end of WiMAX given T-Mobile's faster HSPA+ 3G.
While sometimes forthright, "personal reasons" are often used as euphemisms to create the image of a friendly departure when corporate differences prompted an involuntary exit.
