Michel Combes, an exec who is late of Altice N.V. and Alcatel-Lucent, has been named president and chief financial officer of Sprint.

Combes starts in that role on January 6, reporting to Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. Combes, is relocating to the Kansas City area, will also be appointed to the Sprint board at a later date. Current Sprint CFO Terek Robbiati will remain with the company through January 31 to help with the transition.

Combes most recently was CEO of Altice N.V. He resigned that post in November amid a broader management shakeup at the company. Combes, 55, was also the former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, leading the company to its merger with Nokia in 2015. He is also late of France Telecom, Vodafone Europe and TDF, and served as an advisor to Brightstar, a company founded by Claure.

RELATED: Altice N.V. Shakes Up Management Ranks

Altice USA, comprised of Altice’s acquisitions of Cablevision Systems and Suddenlink, and Sprint announced a “full” MVNO deal in November 2017.

Combes, who joins Sprint a couple of months after Sprint and T-Mobile scuttled their merger talks, will head up financial operations, strategy and “continued cost transformation” at Sprint, the company said.

"Michel is an extremely capable and accomplished global telecom and cable industry leader and I know bringing him on board will help to accelerate our progress as Sprint begins the next chapter of our transformation," Claure said in a statement. "He is a visionary executive with a proven track record of successfully transforming leading telecom and media companies and will help us to execute our strategic plan and strengthen our team."

"I have known Marcelo for many years and am delighted to join the Sprint team and build upon the great progress achieved to date," Combes said. "This is an exciting challenge and unique opportunity to help lead a distinguished company through an historic turnaround and its most exciting period yet."

European telecom giant Altice N.V., parent of No. 3 U.S. cable operator Altice USA, announced a sweeping management restructuring Friday that will see the CEO of the operation step down, while the chief of its domestic operations will assume a dual role.

Altice N.V. CEO Michel Combes resigned Friday and Altice USA chairman and CEO Dexter Goei will take on the additional role of CEO of the European parent. Altice founder Patrick Drahi will also return as president of the board of directors of the European telecom giant.

The moves come after Altice N.V. has stumbled in its European telecom business. Its stock was down more than 20% Nov. 3 after a disappointing third quarter and the revelation that it would come in at the low end of earnings guidance for the year. So far this year Altice N.V. shares are down about 40% and the bleeding has spread to Altice USA, which has seen its stock fall more than 25% since its June IPO, mainly, according to analysts, because of its ties to the parent company.

According to reports, some investors have worried that Altice N.V.’s poor results could jeopardize its ability to service its heavy debt load – about five times its cash flow and substantially higher than its European telecom counterparts.

In a statement Altice N.V said the new management structure “is designed to better implement Altice's strategy, create clearer accountability amongst management and improve the operational and financial performance of the business. It aligns more fully the interests of founders and group management, both with significant ownership in the group, and the public shareholder base.”

In addition to Drahi’s and Goei’s new roles, Altice N.V. chief financial officer Dennis Okhuijsen will assume the additional role of CEO of Altice Europe; and SFR Media CEO Alain Weill was named chairman and CEO of SFR Group and chief operating officer of Altice Media.

"Michel has been an important part of the Altice story when he first joined the Board of Altice,” Drahi said in a statement. “He provided key support and judgment as we developed our expansion strategy.  As CEO, Michel critically created the group structure to operate a transatlantic communications business while driving key technology, research and innovation initiatives, which will serve Altice for the future.  I would like to personally thank him for his contribution, integrity, loyalty and friendship."

Combes joined Altice N.V. in 2015 as chief operating officer, after leaving equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent which was acquired by Nokia. He became Altice CEO in 2016, when Goei stepped down from that role to take over as head of the U.S. cable operations.

"I would like to thank Patrick and the team for their confidence over the past years,” Combes said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to be part of the Altice story, accompany the expansion of the group and lead the industrialization of the convergence strategy. With Patrick returning as President of the group, Altice will be well positioned to execute its strategy across all operations."

Altice announced a reorganization of its group management structure as the company nears the close of its proposed acquisition of Cablevision Systems.

Among the moves, Dexter Goei has been tapped as chairman and CEO of Altice USA and president of Altice N.V., and named Michel Combes to the post of CEO of Altice N.V.

Earlier, also in expectation of the growing U.S. video business, Altice named former Comcast and NBCUniversal executive Michael Schreiber as chief content officer.

Combes, the former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent (now part of Nokia), joined Altice as COO in September 2015. In his new role, Combes will continue his day-to-day responsibilities for Altice Group and have all operating affiliates, country CEOs and corporate functions report to him. Combes will also join the Altice N.V. board as director.

Goei stepped down as CEO of Altice N.V. to focus on the integration of Cablevision and Suddenlink (acquired by Altice in late 2015), the company said.

Goei, who will also replace Patrick Drahi as president of Altice N.V. and continue to lead its global M&A activities, is also tasked with the further development of Altice’s U.S. division.

Drahi, a founder a controlling shareholder of Altice, will continue to head up the strategic, operational and technology agenda for the group, and will lead a newly-formed Altice Group Advisory Council, the company said.

Altice said the revised structure “is reflective of the global presence of Altice N.V. centered around Europe and the US and ensures critical senior leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and best-in-class management in both regions.”

The reorganization comes just days after the New York State Public Service Commission approved, with conditions, Altice’s proposed purchase of Cablevision Systems, removing a final hurdle in the $17.7 billion deal.

“I am extremely excited about our U.S. business which is accounting for approximately 40% of our group and offers huge development opportunities,” Drahi said in a statement. “Dexter exemplifies the entrepreneurial and commercial spirit of Altice and will provide the same vital leadership to our U.S. business he displayed when building the Altice Group in the last 8 years with me.

“Since joining us last year,” Drahi continued, “Michel has been instrumental in structuring and harmonizing our operations and strengthening our management teams across the board. I am very pleased to work with him in his new role as the Altice Group embarks on its next phase of development. I look with full confidence into the future: the Altice Group has never been in a stronger position.”