Dan Hesse, the former head of Sprint spin-off Embarq who recently replaced Gary Forsee as Sprint's president and CEO, has his work cut out for him. Topping his list is most likely replacing the three top-level executives who departed the company on Friday.

Chief marketing officer Tim Kelly, sales and distribution president and Mark Angelino and Paul Saleh, who had been acting CEO since Forsee left in October, are all gone, with other execs filling their roles on an "acting" basis.

As part of its preliminary fourth-quarter report on January 18, Sprint announced plans to lay off 4,000 employees and close some 125 retail stores, largely due to the loss of 683,000 post-paid subscribers in the quarter.

Considering the dismal results, it's not surprising that Hesse is considering bringing in folks from outside the company to fill the vacated roles. "Permanent leaders will be named in conjunction with a review of overall strategy and an effort to streamline operations," Hesse said. "I have no predetermined timeframe in filling these positions but plan to act as quickly as possible as I consider both internal and external candidates."