John Legere
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John Legere leaves T-Mobile's board of directors a few weeks early
Instead of waiting until T-Mobile's board meeting in June, John Legere is stepping down from his post now, just weeks after completing the company's merger with Sprint and handing over the role of CEO.
T-Mobile completes Sprint merger
Right on cue, T-Mobile has completed its merger with Sprint. As of today, the two carriers are one -- they'll do business simply as T-Mobile. They're also clearly confident in the transition, as CEO John Legere is stepping down early rather than waiting until the end of April as his contract dictated. COO Mike Sievert is taking Legere's place, effective immediately.
John Legere is stepping down as T-Mobile CEO next April
The sun is about to set on the John Legere era at T-Mobile. On Monday, the carrier, the third-largest in the US, announced that current president and COO Mike Sievert will take over as CEO on May 1st, 2020. The announcement comes after the FCC approved the T-Mobile and Sprint merger earlier this month -- though it's not a done deal yet with a group of state attorneys general still opposing the merger.
CNBC: T-Mobile CEO John Legere won't be the next WeWork CEO
Earlier this week T-Mobile CEO John Legere's name popped up as a possibility to take over the top spot at WeWork after its failed IPO and ouster of co-founder Adam Neumann. However, subsequent rumors clarified that he was just one of the potential replacements, while today CNBC reports that Legere isn't taking the job and has "no plans" to leave T-Mobile. The report also cites people with knowledge of the matter as saying he was not the top candidate for the job, which would have presented a tricky transition as Softbank is both the majority owner of WeWork, and Sprint, which his company is still in the process of merging with.
WeWork may have found its new CEO: T-Mobile's John Legere
WeWork's series of trials and tribulations has been one of the biggest business stories of the last few months. Co-founder Adam Neumann exited as CEO in September, then SoftBank bought a majority stake in the troubled co-working company after WeWork's failed attempt at an IPO. WeWork might already have a new chief executive lined up, though: T-Mobile CEO John Legere, whom the Wall Street Journal reported is in talks to take over.
T-Mobile will ignore bad credit if you're loyal and want a new phone
And the Un-carrier march continues unabated. This time, T-Mobile CEO John Legere address the consumer masses via YouTube to launch a new initiative that aims to help put a smartphone in the hands of anyone who wants one... and can pay their bills. Starting on January 25, T-Mobile's going to put less stock in your credit history and pay more attention to your payment history. If you've paid your dues on time over the past 12 months, you'll qualify for all those sweet, sweet no-money-down phone deals even if your FICO score looks a bit troubled. And new customers with less than sterling credit? They'll have to wait the 12 months before they get access to T-Mobile's carefully calculated largesse. Simple, no?
T-Mobile's UnCarrier plans are working, gains 4.4 million new customers in 2013
When John Legere jointed T-Mobile, the company had lost two million customers and was eating some substantial losses. The party-crashing CEO, however, seems to have turned things around with the UnCarrier, Jump and Simple Choice programs. In the company's annual report, T-Mobile has announced that 2013 saw the network add a whopping 4.4 million customers across the year. For Q4, while the company added 1.6 million customers, it also marked a loss of $20 million -- so perhaps some of the money spent baiting rival networks should have stayed in the bank.
Leaked T-Mobile ad suggests it'll pay for families to leave its rivals
When T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere isn't busy getting himself kicked out of an AT&T party, he's likely putting the finishing touches to his own CES announcement. Rumors have suggested that T-Mobile will soon make it easier for consumers to switch to the UnCarrier from rival operators, and a banner ad spotted by Droid Life suggests it's willing to put its hand in its pocket to do so. The advertisement, which briefly appeared on T-Mobile's website before it was unceremoniously pulled, says the operator will "pay your family's termination fees when you trade in your devices," countering AT&T's promotion that gives T-Mobile customers up to $450 if they switch to its NEXT plan. T-Mobile's small print says it'll accept ports from AT&T, Verizon or Sprint customers and transfer up to five lines. While the initiative appears costly, the company will look to recoup its outgoings by requiring new customers to trade in their existing smartphones and choose new phones offered on its UnCarrier plans. Droid Life indicates that T-Mobile will likely limit the amount it is willing to pay -- we expect Legere and co. to confirm payment caps and all the other details at its UnCarrier 4.0 event when it kicks off at 12:30PM PT.
T-Mobile CEO uses his iPhone to tweet praise for Galaxy Note 3
When you're the CEO of a major wireless carrier you need to make sure you show no bias towards one manufacturer over another. That must be why T-Mobile boss John Legere used his iPhone to tweet about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 earlier today. So just what would Legere do without his Note 3? Well, probably use his iPhone even more -- or at least that's my best guess. In Legere's defense, there's no way I'd be using that cake-pan-sized, late-'90s-era, stylus-equipped smarphlabletone (it's a word, I said so) to check my tweets either. You could pull a muscle lugging that thing out of your pocket every 30 minutes, and a big-time CEO can't be out of commission like some common peasant. Legere later tweeted a photo of two of his smartphones -- the Note 3 and a new iPhone 5s -- just to prove that he does in fact carry multiple devices. In all seriousness, it only makes sense that someone as connected as Legere would carry multiple phones with him, and if I were him I wouldn't care which one I tweeted from either. Still, that doesn't make it any less funny, so we'll have a laugh at his expense for a moment and then move on with our lives. Deal?
iPhone boosts growth for T-Mobile
T-Mobile reported its Q2 2013 earnings results today and posted an increase of 1.1 million subscribers for the quarter. Impressively, 29 percent of T-Mobile's quarterly sales were attributable to the iPhone. By way of comparison, the carrier lost 200,000 customers during the same quarter a year ago. The iPhone first arrived on T-Mobile in April 2013 and was quick to make an impact. During the first three weeks of its availability, T-Mobile sold 500,000 units. T-Mobile CMO Mike Sievert even went so far as to call the launch "gangbusters." For the entire quarter, T-Mobile sold 4.3 million smartphones, meaning that they sold 1.24 million iPhones altogether. "T-Mobile's Un-carrier approach has clearly resonated with consumers," T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a press release. "By fixing the things that drive them mad, like contracts and upgrades, and freeing them from the two-year sentences imposed on them by our competitors, they are choosing the new T-Mobile in unprecedented numbers." T-Mobile was the last of the four largest U.S based carriers to begin selling the iPhone. Previously, company executives weren't shy about detailing how the lack of the iPhone contributed to significant subscriber churn.
iPhone coming to T-Mobile in 3-4 months
Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, T-Mobile USA Chief Executive John Legere said that the carrier will begin to sell the iPhone in about "three to four months," and that T-Mobile will be taking a different tack to selling them by dropping subsidies for the phones. At this point, most carriers heavily subsidize the iPhone -- that's why you always get tied into a two-year contract in order to get the newest device at a significant discount. While you may pay more up front for a T-Mobile iPhone, the company hopes to attract customers by not tying them to a long-term contract and offering lower service prices. Legere said that he thinks the plan might increase T-Mobile USA's market share by more than 5 percent by offering the combination of more flexibility and lower prices.
John Legere confirmed as new Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile USA
Back in the heat of summer, T-Mobile USA's then CEO Philipp Humm resigned to take up the mantle at Vodafone. In the interim, former COO Jim Alling stepped up to keep the chair warm while a permanent replacement was found. Today we learn that John Legere, former CEO of Global Crossing, will relieve Alling of those duties, and fill the top spot full-time. With 32 years experience in the industry, Legere also spent time at Dell as president of European, Middle East and African operations. For now, his first task will likely be leading the firm's LTE deployment, and trying to win some of the faithful back. Head past the break for the full PR and the new CEO's first video address to employees.
