Deutsche Telekom boss steps down

NEWS Embattled Deutsche Telekom chief executive Ron Sommer has ended speculation about his future by resigning. Fifty-three year old Sommer, who many blame for the fall in Deutsche Telekom's share price following the group's overambitious takeover plans, resigned today, citing a "breakdown of trust" with the company's supervisory board. The fate of Deutsche Telekom has become a major political issue, as the German government still owns a 43 per cent stake. Deutsche Telekom shares were widely bought by retail investors, who blame Sommer for the company's poor performance on the stock market - its shares have fallen over 90 per cent after an ambitious acquisition strategy left the company saddled with over E60bn of debt. So while the government wanted to see the back of Sommer, the unions, which hold 10 of the 20 seats on the company's supervisory board, accused him of making the company into "a political football". Gerhard Schroder and his centre-left Social Democrat party are reluctant to antagonise the unions in the run-up to what is likely to be a close national election in September. Gerhard Tenzer is likely to replace him in a caretaker capacity as CEO. However, at 59 Tenzer is seen as being too old to hold the post long term, and he is also seen as to close to the current management to take the company forward.