Dive Brief:
- T-Mobile US named Shell Oil and GE Vernova veteran Jessica Uhl as its next finance chief, with the incoming finance chief joining the company later this month as “CFO Designate” and then succeeding CFO Peter Osvaldik upon his retirement early next year, according to a Thursday press release and securities filing.
- Osvaldik will leave after a decade with the Bellevue, Wash.-based company, including six years as its CFO, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will step down from the top finance role in February 2027 and serve as a strategic advisor through July 2027 — when his contract, previously extended after the company’s CEO transition last year, is set to end, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission
- “It has been the honor of my career to serve as T-Mobile's CFO, and I am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished during my time with the company,” Osvaldik wrote of his coming retirement in a Thursday post on LinkedIn. “Knowing Jessica Uhl will be taking over the CFO role makes the decision a lot easier,” he said, noting Uhl brings “an extraordinary breadth of financial, strategic and operational experience” to the role.
Dive Insight:
Uhl most recently served as President for energy firm GE Vernova until May 2025, where she led corporate development and strategy as well as oversaw its generative AI program, according to the press release Thursday. She previously spent 15 years at oil and gas company Shell, including five years as its CFO and in roles including EVP, finance for integrated gas and EVP, finance for upstream Americas, according to her LinkedIn profile.
By joining T-Mobile, Uhl, 58, is entitled to an annual base salary “no less than” $975,000 in association with her employment as CFO and CFO Designate, according to the SEC filing. She is also set to receive a one-time cash sign-on bonus of $1 million, payable within 60 days of her employment with the business, and a one-time long-term incentive award with a grant date value of $9.5 million.
Uhl’s compensation will also include an annual short-term cash incentive award of no less than 200% of her eligible earnings and a long-term incentive award of no less than $9.5 million.
“T-Mobile has an extraordinary team, and I’m energized to join as we build on this time of tremendous opportunity and growth,” Uhl said in a Thursday post on LinkedIn. “As T-Mobile continues to drive innovation in this sector that touches all of our lives, I’ll bring my experience in strategy, capital allocation and building world class teams to build on the momentum already established — continuing to deliver the best experience for T-Mobile’s customers.”
News of the coming CFO transition follows about a year after the wireless provider company first announced then-Chief Operating Officer Srini Gopalan would be stepping in as its CEO last September, with Gopalan assuming the role in November, according to a press release.
Uhl will also be joining the company as T-Mobile faces questions about a potential mega-merger floated by its majority shareholder and parent company, Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile US has been a subsidiary of the German telecom provider since 2001, and Deutsche Telekom owns about a 53% stake in the business, according to a company webpage.
Early talks between the two companies reportedly began in April, with Deutsche Telekom proposing to create a new holding company that would then make a stock bid for both entities, Bloomberg reported at the time, citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal has been championed by long-time Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges, who has aimed to push forward the merger in recent months, The Wall Street Journal reported in June.
The merger could create a single telecom company worth $300 billion, but has faced significant hurdles from its onset. Höttges will need to gain approval from both U.S. and German potential shareholders, including the German state, which owns about a 28% stake in Deutsche Telekom, the WSJ reported.
Talks between T-Mobile and its German parent reportedly stalled in July after U.S. company executives expressed concerns over regulatory and shareholder challenges with the deal, news site Semafor reported.
Meanwhile, activist investor Elliot Investment Management — which has built a “substantial stake” in Deutsche Telekom — reportedly urged the German company to abandon the merger and consider other ways to boost shareholder value such as stock buybacks, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
