Kai-Uwe Ricke, Chief Executive Officer of Europe’s largest telecom group by sales Deutsche Telekom has resigned. This comes in the wake of poor shows by the company a few days back.
The company had announced a whopping 34% dip in profits in the three months to 30 September with respect to the same period last year. Also, the firm is embattling increased competition in its home turf, the German telecom market. Besides dipping profits, the company is also embroiled in a row with Vivendi, the French media group, which has filed a complaint against Deutsche Telekom over its purchase of 48% stake in a Polish telecom company PTC from Elektrim, another Polish company. However, Deutsche Telekom refutes any sharp practice in the deal.
Deutsche Telekom is yet to announce officially the name of Ricke’s successor. However, Deutsche Telekom’s mobile division - T-Mobile boss Rene Obermann is widely speculated to be the next Deutsche Telekom CEO.
Anyway, the resignation of Kai-Uwe Ricke ends days of speculation over his fate in the company. Many might think that he has been made a scapegoat in the face of poor results and disputes, however, Kai-Uwe Ricke was the main architect of the firm’s poor show. What remains to be seen now if whether Rene Obermann can turn around Deutsche Telekom’s fortunes.
News: BBCNews.com
