U.S. Cellular restructures management team

U.S. Cellular restructured its management team. Alan Ferber, the company's chief strategy and brand officer, is leaving the company and three new positions have been created.

The company said the changes are designed to keep the company focused on its long-term strategy, marketing and brand communications and expanded distribution channels.

"The pace of change in the wireless industry continues to accelerate," said CEO Mary Dillon in a statement.  Dillon praised Ferber, an 11-year company veteran. "These new leadership positions will provide role clarity, simplify decision making and will enable us to respond more quickly to changing industry dynamics."

The three new roles created by U.S. Cellular include:

--David Kimbell, currently vice president of marketing, will take on the new role of senior vice president, marketing and chief marketing officer and will report directly to Dillon.
--The new position of vice president of business strategy will report to CFO Steven Campbell. The company said the new position will lead an integrated approach to enterprise business strategy.
--The new position of vice president of multi-channel strategy and operations will report to Carter Elenz, executive vice president of sales and customer service. The carrier said this role is designed to create an integrated customer experience across multiple sales channels.

A U.S. Cellular spokesman said the news positions without executives have not yet been filled.

U.S. Cellular is in the midst of an LTE rollout across its footprint, which covers 26 states. The company has seen an uptick in the past few quarters in smartphone adoption and data usage, but has struggled to attract and retain postpaid subscribers. The company also passed on the opportunity to carry Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone, citing unfavorable economics.

For more:
- see this release

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