Embarq CEO Hesse resigns, Gerke named interim chief

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Phone company Embarq Corp (EQ.N) said on Tuesday its chief executive, Dan Hesse, resigned to become CEO of Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N). Embarq appointed Tom Gerke, its general counsel, as interim CEO.

The company also named William Owens, its lead director, as chairman of the board.

Owens said in a statement that Embarq's board early next year plans to consider an increase in cash returned to shareholders, and that he did not expect the change in CEO to affect this process. (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; editing by John Wallace)