T-Mobile’s Andrew Sherrard on the GeekWire Radio show. (GeekWire File Photo by Erynn Rose)

T-Mobile Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Sherrard, a senior marketing executive who has played a key role in the “Uncarrier” initiatives that are fueling the company’s growth, is leaving after 14 years.

The Bellevue, Wash.-based company buried the news of Sherrard’s departure near the bottom of an email to employees focusing on other internal organizational changes. T-Mobile did not provide any reasons for Sherrard’s departure in the email or in response to GeekWire’s inquiries.

The email, obtained independently by GeekWire, was sent to employees from T-Mobile COO Mike Sievert on Monday. Sherrard has not yet responded to GeekWire’s request for comment.

“Andrew Sherrard has left T-Mobile after more than 14 years, and I thank him for his many contributions to our success,” Sievert wrote in the email. “I wish him nothing but the best in his next adventure.”

T-Mobile has deployed an aggressive marketing campaign in recent years, branding the company as the wireless “Uncarrier.” The initiative includes new pricing strategies, subscriber benefits and promotions that have, at times, forced T-Mobile competitors Verizon, Sprint and AT&T to change their own wireless packages and promotions. T-Mobile has been steadily adding subscribers for several years under this strategy.

The company appears to be pressing ahead with this initiative, scheduling a call for Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Pacific with T-Mobile CEO John Legere and other executives to discuss the “latest news from the Un-carrier.”

“The brand personality is absolutely very thoughtfully done,” Sherrard said in an interview with TWICE, a consumer electronics trade publication. “If you’re gonna be the disrupter you want to be a little irreverent … you also want to be willing to kick down the walls and break the rules and be the crazy kid who challenges the bully on the playground and wins.”

A West Point graduate, Sherrard calls himself “Uncarrier architect” in his Twitter bio. Before joining T-Mobile in 2003, he worked as marketing manager for Clorox, managing the Glad and Pine-Sol brands, according to an online bio.

T-Mobile’s marketing wins landed Sherrard on Business Insider’s 2017 list of the most innovative CMOs in the world. That article, published just two weeks ago, cited T-Mobile’s aggressive moves and said it is “no wonder then that Sherrard’s title was recently elevated from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Commercial Officer.” Sherrard was promoted in August of this year, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

According to the internal email, Sherrard will be succeeded as chief commercial officer, effective immediately, by Matt Staneff, a 15-year T-Mobile executive who will join Legere’s senior leadership team, reporting to Sievert, as a result of the promotion.

Continue reading for the full text of Sievert’s email to employees.

Team,

We’ve been on an incredible journey over the past few years. The name Un-carrier will forever be synonymous with being disruptive, and a force for consumer good. I’m very proud of the results our team has been able to achieve over the past 5 years! It’s been quite a ride so far, and as you know, we’re just getting started!

As we gear up for 2018, I wanted to share a couple of updates with regards to my leadership team.

First, I’m excited to share that Matt Staneff is being promoted to lead the Commercial team as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, effective today. Matt becomes a member of John’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and is reporting to me. Matt has been with the company since 2002 (more than 15 years!), serving in a number of executive roles in our marketing, product, and commercial organizations over the last few years. Matt is one of the smartest strategic thinkers in our company, and I’m excited about this opportunity for him to continue to make a huge impact with this promotion. The Commercial team will continue in its mission of balancing short- and long-term priorities to deliver on the company’s revenue and financial goals, owning pricing and offer decisions and other core Operating Team processes.

Mark Roettgering, Flavio Rossi, Kerri Landeis, Steffen Schumann, Christian Anderson, and Brenda Cearley will now report to Matt, with roles unchanged.

Secondly, I’m excited to share that Mike Katz, SVP of T-Mobile for Business, will join the SLT in his current role, effective immediately. This move not only recognizes the outstanding contributions Mike has made as the leader of T-Mobile for Business over the last 2 years, it also recognizes the growing importance of this group to the company’s overall success. Welcome to the Senior Leadership Team, Mike!

Andrew Sherrard has left T-Mobile after more than 14 years, and I thank him for his many contributions to our success. I wish him nothing but the best in his next adventure.

Please join me in congratulating Matt and Mike. I am looking forward to kicking some competitive ass, and changing this industry for the better, for consumers AND businesses, in BIG ways in 2018!

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