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T-Mobile USA CEO resigns

Philipp Humm leaves the fourth-largest wireless provider to pursue another career, the company says. According to an internal memo leaked to GeekWire, he left to work for a competitor.

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Philipp Humm, T-Mobile USA CEO T-Mobile USA

T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm has resigned and will return to Europe where his family lives, according to a press release from the company.

GeekWire reported that a leaked internal memo reveals Humm is leaving to work for a competitor. CNET's messages to Deutsche Telekom, the company that owns T-Mobile, have not been returned, but ZDNET reported a confirmation from Deutsche Telekom that Humm will indeed be joining a rival company.

Deutsche Telekom's Rene Obermann penned the memo, indicating that he has already spoken to a number of candidates. According to the company's press release, T-Mobile COO Jim Alling will take over Humm's duties as the company searches for a new CEO. The release said Humm was going to pursue a career outside the company.

"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," Obermann said in the release. "Now we need somebody who can convert initiatives into market successes."

Humm, who took the job two years ago, will be able to rejoin his family in Europe. The planned merger with AT&T was met withvocal oppositionand was ultimately blocked by the government.

Prior to heading T-Mobile USA, Humm was Deutsche Telekom's European regional chief. He led the company's five national mobile companies in Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Poland, and played a key role in a U.K. joint venture between T-Mobile UK and Orange UK of France Telekom.

Update, 11:21 a.m. PT: Adds confirmation from ZDNet.