Dish Network appoints Paul Orban as chief financial officer

Satellite television provider Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), which is currently on an expansion spree, Tuesday announced a key change to the management team. Senior executive Paul Orban has been promoted to the posts of executive vice president and chief financial officer. He will continue to report to chief executive officer Erik Carlson.

Orban, who started his career at Dish about 23 years ago as a member of the financial reporting team, has held various leadership positions including senior vice president, chief accounting officer, and principal financial officer. Orban came to Dish from Arthur Andersen LLP., where he last served as an auditor.

Weak financials

The appointment gathers significance considering the company’s weak financial performance in the most recent quarter when revenues and earnings dropped 8% and 7% respectively, hurt mainly higher expenses and a sharp decline in subscriber numbers that weighed down on the core pay TV business.

Orban has held various leadership positions including senior vice president and chief accounting officer

“Paul has been with us virtually every step of the way, having joined DISH weeks before we signed our first customer. His encyclopedic knowledge of every aspect of our business, its finances, and its strategic vision has made him an indispensable counselor to me and an outstanding leader to our business,” said Carlson.

Asset Purchase

The management change comes on the heels of reports that the company is in advanced talks to acquire the wireless assets of Sprint Corp. (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) in a mega-deal valued $6 billion.

Earlier, The Justice Department has asked T-Mobile and Sprint to divest a part of their wireless assets to ensure competition in the sector, before closing the proposed merger between the companies. The coming together of the leading telecom firms has been delayed due to antitrust concerns.

Related: Dish Network Q4 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

After falling to a seven-year low towards the end of last year, Dish shares have gained steadily. They moved up 11% in the past twelve months. The stock closed the last trading session notably higher.

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