Sprint names ret. Admiral Mullen security director

Sprint names former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mullen as security director

Associated Press

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. says retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join the company's board of directors and serve as its security director.

Sprint said Friday that Mullen will take on the new positions after SoftBank's proposed $20.1 billion takeover of the company is complete. The deal faced government scrutiny over concerns that SoftBank, a Japanese company, uses Chinese networking equipment that could leave U.S. networks vulnerable to snooping and hacking.

Mullen, 66, will be the company's contact with the government for all security measures.

The Softbank takeover of Sprint still needs FCC and shareholder approval but is expected to be complete in July.