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Veteran marketer Kristin Harrer has been appointed to the post of senior vp and chief brand officer of T-Mobile, the company confirmed to Adweek.
In a LinkedIn post, T-Mobile’s president of marketing, strategy and products Mike Katz lauded Harrer’s “wealth of experience and a proven track record of building brand strength and leading revenue growth.”
Harrer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Harrer indeed brings wide marketing experience to her new role. She spent three years at the agency Weiden + Kennedy before jumping to Nike, where she held several marketing positions. Harrer also held chief marketing officer (CMO) posts at direct-to-consumer darling Dollar Shave Club and Vans, the SoCal skateboard brand best known for its canvas sneakers.
In 2022, Harrer told ADWEEK she wanted to broaden the sports footwear company’s image to break out of associations with bro culture and appeal to a wider range of consumers. She sought to retain Vans’ “badge of authenticity,” she explained. “But as we grow the brand… the access point needs to be broader.”
At a time when the role of the CMO is itself broadening, Harrer’s own view of the title’s purpose remains partly rooted in the traditional, at least according to a prepared statement issued at the time of her Vans hiring in 2021.
“It has long been my belief that the role of a CMO is to set a north-star vision for a brand’s future and to then empower, coach and support teams in forging a path to make that vision a reality,” she said in that statement.
Harrer’s move to T-Mobile is a return to familiar territory. From 2015 to 2019, she served as the head of mobile brand marketing for Samsung Electronics America.
Her hiring comes as a dynamic time for the sector, as the challenge of incorporating AI joins the usual slugging match for subscribers.
Ranked by market cap, T-Mobile is the world’s second largest telecom provider. According to a 2024 report from research firm Opensignal, it operates the largest 5G network in the United States, covering some 330 million people.
