Robert Hackl is the Investor & Investment Committee Member for Purple Arch Ventures. Prior to this he was the senior vice president of Sprint’s Business Transformation & Analytics area and Handset Financing & Insurance businesses. Robert has played a pivotal role in driving Sprint’s successful turnaround and innovating the services for consumers with Sprint Flex and Sprint Complete. The latter won the 2019 Effective Mobile Marketing Award (EMMA) for the Most Effective Launch Campaign. In his role of Business Transformation & Analytics, he is passionate about reshaping the way Sprint employees think and work, using data and analytics and creating confidence in a streamlined, automated and digital future.
With over 20 years of telecommunications industry experience, Robert has worked for some of the world’s largest global brands, including Vodafone, T-Mobile U.S., Deutsche Telekom, and McKinsey & Company. Before coming to Sprint, he changed the DNA of Vodafone Germany as its COO to become truly customer-obsessed and digital-first realizing the market lead in NPS and receiving a Vodafone-Group award for his digital innovation results (e.g., myVodafone App). As SVP Channel Management at T-Mobile U.S., he established commercial discipline while achieving a historical postpaid churn turnaround. He also served as CEO for Tele2 Austria, turning it from EBITDA negative to cash-flow positive. While at McKinsey, he was involved in strategy and marketing engagements for various industries, mostly telecommunications and hi-tech.
Robert has earned a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Vienna and the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School; an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management; and a Master’s in International Business (CEMS-MIM) and Commerce from the University of Vienna respectively.
In addition to being a culinary chef, he is interested in writing, playing and producing music (e.g., You Complete Me – Chloe Gilligan, Never be Alone – sugarwave), and book publishing.
