- Abdu Mudesir is leaving DT just months after replacing Claudia Nemat
- Analyst John Strand suggested there had been a major conflict leading to the departure
- “I would assume that Abdu has been fired," Strand told Fierce Network
The revolving door at Deutsche Telekom has spun again. This time, Abdu Mudesir, member of the board of management for product and technology, has elected to leave the company “at his own request” to take on a role abroad. Mudesir replaced long-time exec Claudia Nemat in the role in September 2025, after she left. One analyst speculated she left because she was blocked from the CEO role.
Mudesir will leave DT on March 31, 2026. Until a successor to Mudesir is found, CFO Christian Illek will take on his duties in addition to his own.
Analysts on DT-Mudesir break
“I would assume that Abdu has been fired; you don't leave such a job after 6 months voluntarily,” said John Strand, CEO of analyst firm Strand Consult. “If he had been offered a new job at that level (outside DT), it is a process that takes 6 months, which means that he should have started that process at the same time as he got the job as CTO.”
Strand believes Mudesir didn’t get the power and responsibility he wanted out of the DT position. The analyst suggested that Mudesir may have had a hard time with CEO Tim Höttges, “who is known for a dominant management style.”
“I suspect that there has been a major conflict and that it has resulted in the two parties choosing to divorce,” Strand said.
Other analysts were a little more circumspect on the departure. “Many of us were a little surprised at his departure,” said Roy Chua, principal at AvidThink said of Mudesir. “I had originally expected he would stay longer.”
Recon Analytics founder and analyst Roger Entner said that an internal candidate is a possible replacement, but noted that DT likes to import talent. “First Claudia, then Abdu, now who knows?” Entner questioned. “Maybe someone from a German consulting firm?” He thought that it was unlikely that DT would pull a replacement from T-Mobile USA.