T-Mobile Nabs Cleary Gottlieb Antitrust Partner

Mark Nelson, a Washington, DC-based lawyer who has long advised T-Mobile as outside counsel, is moving to the telecom company next month as executive vice president and general counsel, reported Reuters.

Nelson, a veteran antitrust attorney and partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, will join T-Mobile on October 11 to take over the top legal role from Dave Miller, who announced his retirement on Thursday, September 16, after 26 years with the company.

In his new role, Nelson will report directly to CEO Mike Sievert, splitting his time between DC and T-Mobile’s headquarters in Bellevue, Washington.

Miller will stay on as strategic adviser until his April 1 retirement to help support the leadership transition, the company stated when announcing the changes Thursday.

“When Dave approached me about his retirement, I knew we had incredibly big shoes to fill and with Mark we have definitely found the right legal mind for the job,” Sievert said in a statement. He added that Nelson has long been a “trusted partner and counselor” and “played a critical role in so many defining moments” for the company.

Nelson joined New York-based Cleary Gottlieb in 1993 and became a partner in 2002. He served as counsel to T-Mobile for two decades and worked closely with Miller to advise the company on various antitrust matters, including its mega-merger with Sprint Corporation last year and its 2013 acquisition of MetroPCS.

Outgoing GC Miller has been with T-Mobile and its predecessor companies since 1995 and general counsel since 2002. He practiced earlier at Lane Powell and a predecessor firm to now-shuttered Bingham McCutchen. He received over US$7.77 million in total compensation last year, including US$5.1 million in stock options, according to the company’s annual proxy statement filed in April.

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