Sprint adds director, bringing number of board members to nine

Sprint Corp. named the chief executive officer of mobile-phone distributor Brightstar Corp. to its board, strengthening ties between two companies under the control of billionaire Masayoshi Son’s SoftBank Corp.

Marcelo Claure’s appointment brings Sprint’s total number of board members to nine, Overland Park-based Sprint said Thursday. SoftBank acquired control of Sprint last year in a $21.6 billion deal and agreed in October to pay $1.26 billion for a majority stake in Brightstar.

The two companies form part of Son’s plan to build a global wireless powerhouse through SoftBank, Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone carrier. Sprint holds the same rank in the U.S. wireless market, while Miami-based Brightstar distributes mobile phones and provides handset insurance and financial services with operations in about 50 countries, according to its website.

“Marcelo’s experience as an entrepreneur and businessman who created and successfully grew a global telecommunications company will bring an invaluable perspective to Sprint’s board,” Son, Sprint’s chairman, said in the statement.

This story was originally published January 16, 2014 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Sprint adds director, bringing number of board members to nine."