SPRINT
AS SPRINT ’ S CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER ( CPO ), MARIANO LEGAZ SITS IN A VERY HOT SEAT INDEED . There ’ s no more competitive or cut-throat business than the US telecommunications market , in which familiar names like AT & T , Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile present figures to claim their network is the largest or fastest growing
Mariano Legaz has inhabited the frenetically evolving world of telecoms since he joined Verizon International in Argentina in 1995 , at which time he was still a student . He moved to the United States in 2000 , and it ’ s significant that he remained with Verizon until his appointment at Sprint in April 2016 .
He brought with him a deep understanding of the business , having served in senior roles in planning and engineering . He eventually became Verizon ’ s director of capital planning and analysis , managing an annual budget of $ 17bn . It was not until 2009 that he put on a specifically supply-chain hat as vice president of Strategic Sourcing and subsequently VP of global supply chain services .
Legaz ’ s appointment was a key component in Sprint ’ s turnaround strategy . For 10 years , until 2015 , the company had been losing customers and staff , burning cash and watching its margins dwindle . Since Japan ’ s SoftBank acquired Sprint in 2013 for $ 21 bn , and despite billions of dollars in investment by its new parent , Sprint continued to struggle and lay off employees .
36 September 2017