EMBARQ Names Gerke as New CEO

EMBARQ Corp., the landline spin-off of Sprint Nextel Corp., [] has named Tom Gerke as its CEO.

Gerke had been serving as interim CEO since Dec. 18, when his predecessor, Dan Hesse, was tapped as head of Sprint. Gerke previously led EMBARQ’s wholesale markets business and also worked in legal, regulatory and external affairs for the company.

Gerke has been in the telecom industry for 13 years. Bill Owens, EMBARQ’s board chairman, said there were several external candidates for the CEO position, but that Gerke “was always a principal candidate.”

“With his depth and knowledge of the telecommunications industry and his understanding of EMBARQ as a company, he has earned the total confidence of the board,” Owens said of Gerke in a statement.

Gerke now sits on the board of directors.

EMBARQ stocks were down 2 cents on Monday afternoon, at $41.92.