Update: Rene Obermann is Deutsche Telekom''s new chief

The supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom AG has appointed Rene Obermann, head of the German teleco's T-Mobile division, as the group's new chief executive effective today.

Obermann will succeed Kai-Uwe Ricke, who resigned yesterday amid growing pressure over his failure to halt the loss of customers at the group's traditional fixed-line business.