History

The EMBARQ™ Tradition

On May 17, 2006, communications history was made as a new company emerged on the scene: EMBARQ, with the trading symbol EQ.  Two weeks later, on June 1, 2006, Wall Street was a sea of green with singers, banners and celebrations as the new company’s arrival was communicated to the public on the New York Stock Exchange. 

But what culminated on June 1, 2006, was set in motion earlier when Sprint announced its merger with Nextel and plans to separate its traditional local business into a standalone company.  Little did the framers of that agreement know, but the company they unleashed as EMBARQ would change the face of communications. 

In December of 2007, Tom Gerke took the helm of EMBARQ as Interim CEO, and in March of 2008 took over as CEO on a permanent basis.  Gerke is in charge of leading the company into the future with a promise of "Practical Ingenuity", where innovative thinking delivers integrated communications and entertainment products and services to customers that make sense and offer true value.  In his career as an executive in the telecommunications industry, he gained broad experience spanning general management, business development and strategic alliances, in addition to his responsibilities for the legal, regulatory and external affairs functions.

Strong Leadership

In December 2004, Dan Hesse was named Chairman and CEO of the new company.  Hesse brought the leadership the company needed at that time as it literally embarked on its journey to be aggressive and innovative in combating two imposing threats – entrance into the wireline communications arena by the cable companies and the growth of wireless-only households. 

When Hesse moved on in December of 2007, Tom Gerke took the reigns, based on his experiences as a seasoned executive and an eye toward the future by being aggressive, innovative and feisty by developing products and services that allow customers to stay connected and get more done at home, at work and on the go. 

In his previous position as EMBARQ’s General Counsel, Gerke was responsible for the oversight of the company’s legal and governmental affairs initiatives, corporate governance and legal support to the EMBARQ board of directors.  In January 2007, he assumed responsibility for EMBARQ’s Wholesale Markets business unit while continuing to lead the legal, regulatory and external affairs functions.  In addition, EMBARQ’s senior lead team brings more than a decade of experience working together.

Innovation that Makes Sense

Innovation is the key to EMBARQ’s continued success and differentiation in the communications industry.  This innovation is based on the convergence of wireline, wireless, the PC and video, all managed by the customer through a centralized portal – myembarq.com. 

Innovation for consumer customers includes:

• Simplified high-speed Internet pricing that doesn't change for as long as the customer has the service, an industry first.
• EMBARQ™ One Voicemail that integrates EMBARQ™ wireless voicemail messages with those received on an EMBARQ™ wireline home phone. Customers are notified on both devices when they have a message and can listen to their messages from one integrated mailbox on either device.
• EMBARQ™ Together Plan PlusSM makes the home phone cool by integrating it with the customer’s wireless service allowing customers to conveniently control where they take the call, when to take the call and what phone to use with new calling feature capabilities – EMBARQ™ Find Me/Follow Me with EMBARQ™ Call Transfer.

Innovation for business customers include:

• EMBARQ™ Smart ConnectSM allows businesses to move calls seamlessly between their wireless and wireline networks -- all without interrupting the call.
• EMBARQ is the first company in the country to offer EMBARQ™ Smart Connect Plus, enabling calls to automatically move between EMBARQ wireless and on-premise Wi-Fi network, whichever is strongest.
• The Business Resource Center (BRC), an innovative online portal (part of embarq.com) designed to provide valuable online content and applications to home-based and small businesses.

Other key milestones include:

• Redesigning the company's retail stores with a fresh new look and feel.  EMBARQ’s new store design wins the national Store Design of the Year award from Chain Store Age magazine. 
• Ranking highest in customer satisfaction among large enterprise businesses, according to J.D. Power and Associates Study. 
• Continuing the company's focus and commitment to the communities it serves.  For example, in 2007, EMBARQ became only the third company in the history of the Greater Kansas City United Way to contribute more than $1 million.
• EMBARQ is named the 2007 Kansas City Business Ethics award winner for exemplifying high standards of ethical behavior.
• EMBARQ Wholesale Best-in-Class awards from benchmarking firm ATLANTIC-ACM in 2007 for the company’s Provisioning, Service Level Agreements and Integrated PRI (broadband).
• EMBARQ received the 2007 Frost & Sullivan product of the year award for converging wireline and wireless services with the launch of the EMBARQ™ Together PlanSM.