It’s never too comfy when highly-paid executives lose their jobs. Having helped to preside over the decimation of Deutsche Telekom’s workforce, it would be nice to think that Kai-Uwe Ricke can at least find himself in a position of empathy with those who he forced onto the high-tech scrapheap. Europe’s biggest telco flounders? He, as CEO, must go. And gone he has.

Knee-jerk replacement corporate theology – and don’t kid yourselves for a moment that the issues of managing former state-run telcos are anything other than a religious experience – mandates that a bright young thing from a bright young market should take charge. Unfortunately for DT, it has very little that is bright or young to proffer to investors.

Kai-Uwe’s departure was handled perfunctorily by DT: “The chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom, Dr Klaus Zumwinkel, thanked Kai-Uwe Ricke for his dedicated work, particularly the consolidation of the company as well as the continued internationalization. Kai-Uwe Ricke took over as Deutsche Telekom's CEO on November 15, 2002. During his term there was not only the clear reduction of debt, but also for example the internationalization both in Eastern Europe and the USA, the T-Online merger as well as the development of the German broadband market.”

Enter, René Obermann (arguably bright and, at 43, arguably young too). Dr Klaus Zumwinkel (you’ll have noticed him, above), said: "René Obermann is a strong entrepreneurial leader with over 20 years experience in an industry that is characterised by fast technological changes and constant new challenges in the market. His career has a strong international influence, particularly through the successful internationalization of T-Mobile. Customer focus and service are of high priority to Obermann. At the same time he will continue managing costs effectively."

So Europe’s biggest telco has a new chief and a distinct absence of closure with the EC over Germany's outrageous feather-bedding of a new and fairly uninspiring high-speed broadband network. Sounds like a challenge: but don’t walk away, René...
Jim Chalmers