T-Mobile US announced the promotion of COO Mike Sievert to CEO, from 01 May 2020 when the current CEO John Legere's contract expire. Legere will remain a member of the board. The news follows reports that parent company Deutsche Telekom was working on a change in management, ahead of the planned T-Mobile merger with Sprint.
Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges thanked Legere for his over seven-year contribution and putting "T-Mobile US in an incredibly strong position". As the architect of T-Mobile's 'un-carrier' strategy, Legere has taken T-Mobile from fourth to third place in the industry thanks to rapid customer growth, while significantly improving network coverage and helping drive down prices in the US mobile industry. He also helped reverse the power dynamics in the Sprint deal, going from the target to the acquirer since the companies first tried to merge in 2014.
Sievert has worked alongside Legere for the last seven years, first as Chief Marketing Officer and then COO. In his current role, he leads all of T-Mobile’s marketing and product groups, and all retail, sales, and customer support groups for all of T-Mobile’s segments and brands, among other responsibilities. In addition, over the past two years he has worked closely with Legere on T-Mobile’s merger planning, integration, and regulatory approval initiatives. He has sat on the board for nearly two years.
The new CEO will continue the 'un-carrier' strategy, the company said. The merger with Sprint is planned to close in the first half of 2020, pending final regulatory clearance.
