﻿ T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm quits to 'join rival firm' | ZDNet


Summary: T-Mobile USA's chief executive has suddenly resigned, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. According to a leaked memo, he skipped the fence to join a rival firm.

T-Mobile USA's chief executive Philipp Humm suddenly resigned on Wednesday, the company said.

Former T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm (Credit: T-Mobile)


Chief operating officer Jim Alling will take on the role as interim chief executive until the position can be filled.

René Obermann, the chief executive of T-Mobile USA's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, said in a statement:


But he added what appears to be the crucial line regarding his successor:

"Now we need somebody who can convert initiatives into market-successes.”

German born Humm joined T-Mobile USA two years ago while his family stayed behind in Europe. He first joined Deutsche Telekom in 2005, taking over as chief executive within six months.

With all eyes currently on Google I/O, the timing of this news is interesting.

Alling sent an immediate email to all T-Mobile USA employees, stating: "Philipp Humm has decided to leave the business", suggesting he walked out on his own terms.

However, a leaked memo from Obermann said --- again to all T-Mobile USA employees --- at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning: "Philipp informed me a few days ago that he will be joining a competitor of Deutsche Telekom."

Update (14:10 ET): A Deutsche Telekom spokesperson confirmed that Humm would join one of the company's competitors "in the future." As Humm plans to return to his family in Europe, the likely guess is that he will join a European firm.

"In April, Philipp informed me that he intended to end his contract at the end of September," the note added. "This search is progressing well. I have spoken to a number of promising candidates."

No wonder Obermann sounded like he was twisting in the knife towards the end of his public statement.

Humm joined the company at a difficult time, overseeing the acquisition of AT&T for $39 billion --- a task he was charged with overseeing --- which eventually fell through.

The merger collapsed after it failed to gain support from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission --- a step necessary for the deal to go through. The U.S. Justice Dept. eventually sued to block the merger on the grounds that it would "substantially lessen competition".

Since then, Deutsche Telekom had been trying to sell off the company, but noted to shareholders earlier this year that a complete sale of the U.S. network is "unlikely."


Topics: Banking, CXO, Mobility



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  • Hopefully someone good steps in

    While I won't claim the service (number of bars) is comparable to Verizon in all areas, I likely pay half of what you pay for unlimited everything. As I rarely stream video/audio, it doesn't matter to me that about half my data is at 2G speeds. I think I use less than 300 mb a month since most of my data is on WiFi. I like that I can pay $50 a month and save upwards of $1,000 over the lifetime of a comparable contract. Hopefully the next CEO recognized the benefits need more promotion and keep rates the same.
  • Why foreign CEO's for USA Divisions?

    Who knows the U.S. better than American CEO's? Europe is doing so great right now! Hmmm? Some things are so obvious that I think corporate decisions are made without any thought of geographical reference. A subject that will never be discussed in the mainstream media because it sounds racist. Is logical racist? It is like profiling a Muslim in an airport in the U.S., common sense 101. Europeans do not understand "western culture" and how to market to us. Take notes from the top tech companies in the "Valley". Americans do it better, at least after the election in November. Kenya's don't understand us either!
    • Because the majority partner is European

      and they want to keep an eye on their investment.

      Personally, I think all CEO's are overrated and overpaid. But the board of directors will always come up with some lame statement like: Mr Blah did blah blah blah and instituted blah blah blah and helped us achieve blah blah blah.

      Im really tired of the America vs Europe (and the Europe vs America) mentality on these boards. Neither continent has much to be proud of these days.
      • Taboo

        Just because it is Taboo does not mean it is not relevant.
    • Moderator note...

      Rather than delete your post for the flag, I would admonish you to
      stop with the political references in a non-political discussion.
      The derogatory remarks have no place in this forum...thank you!
  • merger will happen sooner or later ....

    FCC Blocks merger... Don't worry TMobile, just run your business into the ground a little more untill the Government caves in.