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René Obermann

Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann is stepping down from T-Mobile’s board of directors, according to the company’s latest 8-K filing with the SEC. Obermann’s departure is not wholly unexpected, given that he is leaving Deutsche Telekom to become CEO of Ziggo, a Dutch cable company.

It’s an important move, given that T-Mobile US is a subsidiary of the German telecommunications giant, which controls a 74 percent stake in T-Mobile. In the filing, T-Mobile said that Obermann’s departure was “not as a result of any disagreement with the Company.”

According to the filing, T-Mobile expects that Deutsche Telekom will appoint a replacement representative to fill Obermann’s vacancy in the fourth quarter of 2013. In the interim, Deutsche Telekom will still have plenty of representation on T-Mobile’s board. Timotheus Höttges, Deutsche Telekom’s CFO, will be remaining as Chairman, and Deutsche Telekom Senior Vice Presidents Raphael Kübler and Thorsten Langheim also continue to hold positions on the board.

Update: T-Mobile provided GeekWire with the following statement.

“We wish Mr. Obermann the best in his future endeavors and thank him for being a great supporter of T-Mobile. His resignation as a director of T-Mobile US, Inc., effective as of November 15, 2013, is understandable in light of his announced departure as CEO of Deutsche Telekom later this year. It is anticipated that Deutsche Telekom will designate another candidate to be appointed by the T-Mobile US, Inc. Board to fill the vacancy resulting from Mr. Obermann’s resignation during the fourth quarter of 2013.”

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