Deutsche Telekom chief quits
13 Nov 2006
Kai-Uwe Ricke, chief executive of Deutsche Telekom Europe's biggest phone company, resigned, effective from this morning, four days after Deutsche Telekom reported a 20-per cent decline in its third-quarter profits.
The former telecom monopoly's wireless earnings have fallen and the company has been facing customer attrition as the internet reduces demand for traditional phone calls as customers move over lower cost web-based technology service providers.
In the third quarter the telco lost more than half a million lines, bringing the decline in the first nine months to 1.5 million. The telecom major is cutting 32,000 German jobs.
Deutsche Telekom's major shareholders that include the German government with a 31.7-per cent stake and private equity firm Blackstone Group have approved of the resignation.
Ricke becomes the second CEO of a German corporation to be ousted after Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen, announced the departure of chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder, last week.
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