Sprint hires Verizon regional president Mariano Legaz

Sprint has hired a Verizon regional president to be its new chief procurement officer, but it has to wait until he is freed from his contract to start his new job.

Mariano Legaz has been Verizon’s Florida regional president since July 2013, according to his LinkedIn page. It also shows Legaz’s regional presidency ended in September.

Legaz acknowledged his pending new job Friday.

“This is a unique opportunity to join a great team working to transform an iconic company like Sprint,” he said.

He declined to discuss the terms of his Verizon agreement. He has been with Verizon since 2000, serving in a number of posts that included purchasing and supply chain duties.

Verizon declined to comment. The company recently said it was reducing its 20 regions to six in a reorganization of its wireless operations. It plans some job cuts as part of the effort.

In a 2012 interview, Legaz talked about his drive to work long days.

“I’ve never known anyone who puts in a 10- to 12-hour day for a scorecard. You need to find out what drives you. What’s your ulterior motivation? It doesn’t matter how big that paycheck is — it’ll never be enough,” he told Hispanic Executive magazine.

Sprint confirmed Legaz’s hire to become chief procurement officer. Legaz, however, was employed under a contract with Verizon that included a non-complete clause. The clause prohibits executives from quitting a company to go work for a rival until the term of the non-compete period ends.

Sprint did not disclose the length of Legaz’s non-compete period. But it has named an interim chief procurement officer with another hire it disclosed to employees Thursday. Ramon Colomina is joining Sprint as senior vice president of supply management chain and interim chief procurement officer.

A year ago, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure filled the procurement post with an interim appointment of Frank Boyer, who was a retained consultant. Colomina fills the post until Legaz’s arrival.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Sprint hires Verizon regional president Mariano Legaz."