UPDATE 2-Clearwire names new CEO, Wolff to be co-Chair

*Names William Morrow as CEO

*Current CEO Wolff to become co-chairman

*Wolff to focus on strategic, financing opportunities

(Adds director comment, details)

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O) on Monday named William Morrow as chief executive, replacing Benjamin Wolff, who becomes co-chairman.

The company, which was founded by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw and recently recreated as a venture with Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N) and other investors, said Wolff will share the role of co-chairman with McCaw.

It said Wolff, who also will continue his role as president of McCaw's investment firm Eagle River, will focus on Clearwire's strategic and financing opportunities.

"We've got a significant amount of capital but the company will continue to look for opportunities to expand its capital base to continue to grow the business," John Stanton, a director on Clearwire's board told reporters on a conference call when asked about Wolff's new role.

Morrow, 49, recently served as CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric. Prior to that he held executive positions at mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) in countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom.

Clearwire is building a high-speed wireless network based on an emerging technology known as WiMax, which promises to blanket cities with Internet access.

Sprint, which has a roughly 51 percent ownership of Clearwire, contributed airwaves suitable for WiMax to the venture. Clearwire and Sprint have promised dual-mode devices that work on Sprint's and Clearwire's networks.

Clearwire also raised about $3.2 billion in capital from investors, including Comcast (CMCSA.O), Intel Corp (INTC.O), Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N) and Google Inc (GOOG.O). The venture closed on Dec 1. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Carol Bishopric)