T-Mobile Head Philipp Humm Steps Down

T-Mobile USA head Philipp Humm is leaving the Bellevue-based cellular company, the company announced this morning.

Humm had been with T-Mobile USA, a division of German company Deutsche Telekom, since 2005, according to the company.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Humm has taken an as-yet unidentified job with one of the Deutsche Telekom's competitors in Europe. T-Mobile said that the move will enable Humm to reunite with his family in Europe.

T-Mobile USA's Chief Operating Officer, Jim Alling, will be an interim CEO basis while the company searches, according to a press release.

According to a T-Mobile press release:

Humm joined Deutsche Telekom in 2005, and was initially responsible for the company’s mobile business in Germany. In 2008 he took on the responsibility of managing the sales and service activities of the European mobile companies within Deutsche Telekom Group. In May 2010 he moved to T-Mobile USA., taking over as CEO in November of that year.

 

Months after Humm took the reigns at , which ultimately did not occur, after.

--about 9 percent of its workforce nationwide--including retail store representatives, engineers and operational functions in the Bellevue corporate headquarters.

René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, thanked Humm for his contribution over the past seven years saying: “Philipp Humm has given the company some important initiatives over the past years: Under his leadership the cost situation at T-Mobile USA has vastly improved and he led the company during a difficult phase regarding the planned merger with AT&T.” In terms of a potential successor Obermann said: “Now we need somebody who can convert initiatives into market-successes.”

T-Mobile's interim CEO Alling in a letter to employees Wednesday said, after a year of pursuing the merger with AT&T.