Clearwire gets a new CEO; Wolff moves to co-chairman

Clearwire today named Bill Morrow, a former Vodafone and AirTouch executive, as its new CEO. Morrow will replace Clearwire founder Ben Wolff, who will become co-chairman of Clearwire along with industry veteran Craig McCaw.

Morrow has 30 years of operational management experience in the telecom industry working for AirTouch and Vodafone. He recently served as President and CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric in San Francisco. Prior to PG&E, Morrow served in a number of senior executive positions at Vodafone Ltd. and Vodafone Group PLC, including CEO of Vodafone, Europe, CEO of Vodafone UK Ltd. and president of Vodafone KK in Japan. He also served as president of Japan Telecom Co. and held senior executive positions with wireless telecommunications carrier AirTouch International.

In a call with reporters immediately after the news was announced, John Stanton, director of Clearwire and managing director of Trilogy Partners, an investor in Clearwire, said that the timing is key for this move because Morrow brings key operational experience to the company as it's focusing on its nationwide buildout. "Ben will continue to be important and visible to the company and within the industry," Stanton said. "Now clearly the focus is on the operation and bringing Clearwire to scale."

Wolff, who will be a keynote speaker at the International CTIA Wireless conference next month in Las Vegas, will handle the relationship with the investment partners including Comcast, Bright House Networks, Google, Sprint Nextel and Intel, as well as others.

For more:
- see this press release

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