(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Edward A. Mueller had been on the job as Qwest Communications' new CEO for just a few hours when the questions began to fly; what about a video strategy‾ M&A‾ Airwaves auction‾
The longtime telecommunications industry vet and former head of Williams-Sonoma had a quick answer to each, he wants time to explore each business strategy before making major decisions.
'I don't come in with a mandate to do something different,' he said. 'Obviously, there are challenges in any business, and we're in a sector that is changing as we speak. I do think we win in the end of the day not through technology, but through people and service.'
Qwest Communications, which operates a nationwide fiber optics network and a telephone service in 14 mostly Western states, tapped Mueller, 60, to replace retiring chairman and CEO Dick Notebaert.
The board believes Mueller's telecom and retail background will prove valuable as Qwest continues to whittle a niche in the evolving telecommunications landscape.
It's a familiar position for Mueller, who followed Notebaert at Ameritech. Notebaert resigned as CEO in 1999 after the company was acquired by SBC Communications, and Mueller became president and CEO of SBC Ameritech, the subsidiary of SBC Communications, in 2000.
Notebaert said Mueller was his No. 1 choice as a successor because of his industry and retail experience. 'Ed also is someone I have known for a very long time, so I feel very confident that he is the right leader for Qwest at this point in time,' he said.
Notebaert took charge of a financially troubled Qwest after the resignation of then-CEO Joe Nacchio in June 2002 when it was mired in a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal that forced the company to restate at least $2.2 billion in revenue.
Nacchio was convicted of insider trading in April, sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay $71 million in forfeitures and fines.
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