T-Mobile said Mike Sievert will assume the role of company president, effective immediately. John Legere, who has been president and CEO, will retain the CEO title.
Sievert has been T-Mobile's chief operating officer since 2015, a role he will retain as president. Before becoming COO, Sievert was the company's chief marketing officer. He has been instrumental in helping T-Mobile position itself as a value-driven, customer-focused alternative to the larger carriers.
Sievert's promotion was apparently in the works for some time, because T-Mobile stated in a Form 8-K that it had adjusted Sievert's compensation earlier this year to reflect his new role as president.
Before joining T-Mobile, Sievert worked for a number of large companies inside and outside the wireless industry. He was EVP and CMO at AT&T Wireless from 2002 until 2005, when he left to become corporate VP of Microsoft's Global Windows Group.
In addition, Sievert is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor. Most of his efforts here have focused on the technology community in the Seattle area, and he describes himself on his LinkedIn profile as a "general cheerleader for the vibrant Seattle area startup community." Sievert's highest-profile startup was Switchbox Labs, which he co-founded and led in 2008. In 2009, Switchbox Labs was acquired by Lenovo.
Sievert's background is in marketing, and in the months ahead he is likely to use his marketing skills in Washington, D.C., as T-Mobile works to convince the U.S. Justice Department and the FCC that its proposed $26 billion purchase of Sprint will be a good thing for American consumers. Sievert is expected to be president and chief operating officer of the combined company if the deal closes.
Sievert also championed T-Mobile's much smaller purchase of Layer3 TV, saying the acquisition would help the company take on an industry that is even more hated than big wireless: the cable TV industry.
RELATED: T-Mobile to acquire Layer3 TV, launch 'disruptive' video service next year
"We think the service should be a total replacement for traditional satellite and cable TV," Sievert told CNBC, which is owned by cable giant Comcast. "The way TV is delivered to you in your homes today just pales in comparison to this social media fueled video that you get in the mobile world."
Sievert said T-Mobile is planning to bring together home TV and mobile TV, and eliminate the program guides people use now to discover content on TV.