Since joining the company in 2012, CEO John Legere has taken Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile from a struggling mobile carrier known for subpar coverage and service to the third-largest and fastest-growing carrier in the U.S.
Along the way, Legere grew his hair out, donned an entire magenta T-Mobile wardrobe and declared industry leaders AT&T and Verizon “dumb and dumber,” the villains to his Batman.
He has changed the company’s culture along with himself, getting T-Mobile U.S. employees in the Bellevue, Wash., headquarters and across the country as excited as he is.
In 2016, T-Mobile continued its streak of adding more than a million net new customers in 14 straight quarters. T-Mobile says it added 2 million more customers in the third quarter while growing revenue 18 percent to $9.2 billion, and posting a quarterly profit of $366 million, up 165 percent year over year.
Those results come as the company’s larger competitors, AT&T and Verizon, pursue blockbuster acquisitions to diversify their businesses as their wireless growth slows. AT&T announced plans to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Verizon, which is in the process of buying Yahoo, reported a 6.7 percent decrease in third-quarter revenue.
This is the third straight year TWICE chose Legere as a Newsmaker Of The Year. Given his unorthodox approach and passion for disruption, this streak is probably just beginning.
