Qwest Communications Names Edward Mueller as New CEO

Telecom News Editorials Reports Glossary

6:30 am on August 14, 2007 | Category: Business, Corporate

America’s third largest telecom operator, Qwest Communications, has named appointed Edward Mueller as its new CEO, two months after incumbent Chief Executive, Richard Notebaert, announced his intention to retire.

Mueller is a former SBC Communications executive, who has spent the past four years as CEO of Williams-Sonoma, which owns Pottery Barn and a number of gourmet cooking stores. He will earn a starting salary of $1.2 million, plus stock-based incentives, and a bonus of at least $947,000.

Notebaert, who brought Qwest back from the brink of bankruptcy during his five-year stint as CEO, earned a salary of $1.1 million, plus $4.1 million in bonuses last year. It remains to be see whether Mueller can live up to the example of his predecessor.

“With any new manager coming in, he’s going to have to prove himself,” commented Argus Research Corp. analyst, Joseph Bonner, in an interview. “Dick Notebaert did an incredible job turning that company around in the last few years and the question now is, how sustainable is that recovery and will the new manager be able to sustain it?”

Mueller’s appointment may be a sign that Qwest hopes to make more acquisitions, noted Bonner, who has a “hold” rating on the company’s shares, and doesn’t own any.