• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech

John Legere, ‘bad boy’ of telecoms wooed by WeWork

November 15, 2019

Family Behind Krispy Kreme Donates Millions to Holocaust Survivors

December 12, 2019

Germany’s backlog in its battle against organized crime

December 12, 2019

US long-term mortgage rates rise; 30-year loan at 3.73%

December 12, 2019

Pelosi on Trump impeachment articles: ‘They’re very strong’

December 12, 2019

Matt Gaetz slammed for DUI bust after citing Hunter Biden’s coke use

December 12, 2019

Gulf Arabs vs. Turkey and Iran—Israel’s Bad Bet on ‘Friends’ in the Middle East

December 12, 2019

House Panel Grinds Through G.O.P. Objections to Impeachment Articles

December 12, 2019

Britain’s Conservatives Pledge to Target Roma

December 12, 2019

Where Housekeepers, Bartenders and Cooks Wield Vast Political Clout

December 12, 2019

NSA Inspector General Report Finds Intelligence Storage Process Poses ‘Significant Risks’ for Civil Liberties

December 12, 2019

Lizzo’s sexy style always makes a statement

December 12, 2019

When Does Burger King’s Winter Whopperland Game End? Play Soon For A Chance To Win

December 12, 2019
DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Opinion
    • Politics
    • Science
    • U.S.
    • World

    Family Behind Krispy Kreme Donates Millions to Holocaust Survivors

    Germany’s backlog in its battle against organized crime

    US long-term mortgage rates rise; 30-year loan at 3.73%

    Pelosi on Trump impeachment articles: ‘They’re very strong’

    Matt Gaetz slammed for DUI bust after citing Hunter Biden’s coke use

    Gulf Arabs vs. Turkey and Iran—Israel’s Bad Bet on ‘Friends’ in the Middle East

    House Panel Grinds Through G.O.P. Objections to Impeachment Articles

    Britain’s Conservatives Pledge to Target Roma

    Where Housekeepers, Bartenders and Cooks Wield Vast Political Clout

    NSA Inspector General Report Finds Intelligence Storage Process Poses ‘Significant Risks’ for Civil Liberties

    Trending Tags

    • Donald Trump
    • Robert Mueller
    • Joe Biden
    • William Barr
    • Elizabeth Warren
    • Bernie Sanders
    • Kamala Harris
    • Nancy Pelosi
    • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
  • Tech
    • All
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup

    NSA Inspector General Report Finds Intelligence Storage Process Poses ‘Significant Risks’ for Civil Liberties

    France claims big win against Vestager in battle for champions

    Augury raises $8 million more to predict mechanical breakdowns with AI

    Out: M.P.G. In: Kilowatt-Hours. Classic Cars Get an Electric Jolt.

    LeanTaaS raises $40 million to optimize health clinic operations with AI

    World’s first all-electric fire engine unveiled in California

    AI R&D is booming, but general intelligence is still out of reach

    Artificial Intelligence Isn’t an Arms Race

    The Doc is in: we talked to Dr Disrespect about his huge new TV deal

    Google Unveils Its Most Popular Searches Of 2019, With Disney+, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ And ‘Game Of Thrones’ Topping Lists

    Trending Tags

    • Google
    • Apple
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Amazon
    • Playstation
    • Gaming
    • Samsung
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater

    Lizzo’s sexy style always makes a statement

    Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s ‘Little America’ Renewed for Season 2 on Apple TV+

    10 ex-NFL players charged with defrauding healthcare program

    Clinton Portis, Other Ex-N.F.L. Players, Face Health Care Fraud Charges

    ‘Frozen II’ Hit Me Hard as a Motherless Daughter

    In the Heights: Here’s Everything We Know About the Lin-Manuel Miranda Movie

    This Video Of Kendall Jenner Impersonating Kylie Is So, So Brutal

    Juice WRLD’s Mom Confirms He Had ‘Prescription Drug Dependency’ Following Late Rapper’s Death

    Taron Egerton Wanted the ‘Rocketman’ Gay Sex Scenes as Much as You Did

    Kofi Cockburn helps Illinois upset No. 5 Michigan 71-62

    Trending Tags

    • Netflix
    • HBO
    • Hulu
    • Game Of Thrones
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Architecture
    • Arts
    • Design
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Photography
    • Travel

    When Does Burger King’s Winter Whopperland Game End? Play Soon For A Chance To Win

    10 ex-NFL players charged with defrauding healthcare program

    J.P. Rosenbaum Says He ‘Still Can’t Hold My Kids’ After Guillain-Barré Diagnosis

    Clinton Portis, Former NFL Stars Stole Nearly $4 Million From League Health-Care Program: DOJ

    The SNAP Rule Will Cause More Hunger Than We Can Handle

    Ex-NFL players charged in health care fraud scheme

    The Guy Credited With Starting the “Milkshaking” Trend Feels Kind of Weird About it Now

    ‘Rick and Morty’ Pringles: When Will the Pickle Rick-Flavored Chips Be Available?

    Planned Parenthood to Open Sexual Health Centers at 50 Los Angeles High Schools

    The Green Jobs That Could Help Save the Amazon

    Trending Tags

    • Mental Health
    • Beauty
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home News

John Legere, ‘bad boy’ of telecoms wooed by WeWork

November 15, 2019
in News
4 min read
250 3
492
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Visitors to T-Mobile’s Bellevue headquarters in Washington eight years ago were greeted by dull grey walls and what one described as a “strange German atmosphere”.

America’s fourth-largest mobile phone company, a struggling outpost of Deutsche Telekom, was facing a bleak future after its sale to AT&T was blocked.

The same visitor returned a few weeks later to find the company visibly transformed. Staff were wearing brightly coloured T-shirts — and people were smiling. “It felt like a different company,” he said.

That was the John Legere effect — and the makeover was not just of the company. T-Mobile first approached him in a week when he sealed his divorce and closed the sale of Global Crossing, the network company he had led for a decade. The US industry veteran, who had looked like any other suited and booted leader at Global, Dell and AT&T, grew his hair long and donned a leather jacket, magenta-coloured T-Mobile T-shirt and sneakers, and started throwing rocks at his larger rivals.

“He gave the number-four player a face and convinced them they were the winners when really they were the losers,” said one former colleague.

Last week Mr Legere was linked to the vacant chief executive position at WeWork. The switch to a smaller office space company at the centre of a corporate storm was met with disbelief in the telecoms sector. Mr Legere is closing in on T-Mobile’s long-running blockbuster takeover of rival Sprint. His consumer champion persona did not seem particularly suited to a business-to-business office provider. Mr Legere declined to comment.

That customer focus has been key to the turnround of T-Mobile, according to his peers. One who has worked with him closely said Mr Legere would become bored in meetings that required drilling down deep into financial statements or discussing corporate best practice. His real skill was getting the “front line” — thousands of sales and customer service workers — excited and happy while building a loyal team of strong executives such as Mike Sievert and Neville Ray to develop operational strategy and network expansion.

Mr Legere, 61, has cultivated what he calls a “bad boy” image since he launched his drive to whip T-Mobile USA into a genuine challenger. His foul-mouthed outbursts and abrasive attacks on larger rivals, which he labelled “dumb and dumber”, have done as much to shake up the “stupid, broken and arrogant” US telecoms industry as T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier” strategy to win customers by ditching rigid mobile contracts.

He has built up a cult of personality around himself. Mr Legere has his own emoji and broadcasts a weekly cookery show on Facebook. At company events he uses a John Legere doll, which also has its own Twitter account.

European telecoms bosses, such as BT Consumer chief executive Marc Allera, have adopted some of the social media savvy of his approach but most argue that the brash persona, especially the fierce attacks on rivals, would not play well outside America.

The Legere theatrics might have backfired had T-Mobile’s customer base not expanded from 33m to 84m during his tenure, growth matched by its financial progress. But he has succeeded in turning T-Mobile, a well-worn name linked to Europe’s largest incumbent telecoms company, into a genuine challenger brand.

The proposed takeover of Sprint, the struggling SoftBank-owned mobile network that once had designs on T-Mobile, is the coup de grâce for Mr Legere as his company heads into the 5G era.

Marcelo Claure, the Bolivian former Sprint chief, once called Mr Legere a “con artist” but they bonded strongly during merger talks. That is no surprise to Mr Legere’s colleagues who argue he is socially intelligent and works hard to forge relationships with unlikely allies such as Tim Höttges, Deutsche Telekom’s stern chief executive.

Mr Claure is now executive chairman of WeWork. SoftBank has doubled down on its investment in the office company following its failed initial public offering, and the Bolivian could try to tempt the magenta man away from telecoms and to another turnround story.

When he took on the top job at T-Mobile, Mr Legere quipped about a lesson he had learnt at karaoke bars during stints in Asia: always take the stage after the worst singer. WeWork’s turmoil may well tempt the showman chief executive to step up to the microphone again.

The post John Legere, ‘bad boy’ of telecoms wooed by WeWork appeared first on Financial Times.

Share197Tweet123Share34

Trending Posts

Where Housekeepers, Bartenders and Cooks Wield Vast Political Clout

December 12, 2019

Trump, impeachment lawyers mull adding Alan Dershowitz to team

December 12, 2019

Subduing Terrorist on London Bridge, He Was Prepared to Die

December 12, 2019

Democrats Will Debate Four More Times in January and February

December 12, 2019

Clinton Portis, Other Ex-N.F.L. Players, Face Health Care Fraud Charges

December 12, 2019

Copyright © 2019.

Site Navigation

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • World
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2019.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In