Jonathan Freier
T-Mobile USAbout Jonathan Freier
Jonathan A. Freier serves as President, Consumer Group at T-Mobile US, leading consumer-facing brands and operations across postpaid and prepaid, including strategy, marketing, go-to-market, branded retail, customer services, and independent sales channels; he has over 25 years of telecommunications experience, beginning on the frontline at Western Wireless in 1994, and holds a B.S. in organizational management (Lubbock Christian University) and an M.S. in organizational leadership (Colorado State University) . Company incentives tie pay to key performance metrics—Service Revenue, Total Net Additions, Core Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow—under a pay-for-performance program where ~90% of NEO target compensation is variable, with no hedging/short sales/pledging permitted . In 2024, corporate STIP attainment was 167% on above-target performance across all four metrics ; from 2020 to 2024, T-Mobile’s TSR rose 187% versus 9% for the compensation peer group, evidencing strong shareholder value creation during that period .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Wireless (predecessor to T-Mobile) | Frontline roles; launched wireless career in Lubbock, TX | 1994 | Early-stage growth in rural/unserved markets; precursor to VoiceStream (1996), spin-off (1999), becoming T-Mobile (2001) |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | — |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Target STIP % of Salary | Target STIP Value ($) | Actual STIP Paid ($) | Target LTI % of Target Cash | Target LTI Value ($) | Total Target Direct Comp ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 825,000 | 185% | 1,526,250 | 2,548,838 | 225% | 5,290,313 | 7,641,563 |
Summary Compensation (Reported)
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | 790,000 | 825,000 |
| Stock Awards ($) | 4,626,009 | 5,181,184 |
| Non-Equity Incentive Compensation ($) | 1,730,100 | 2,548,838 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 22,506 | 130,125 |
| Total ($) | 7,168,616 | 8,685,147 |
Performance Compensation
Annual STIP Metrics and Outcomes (2024)
| Metric | Weight | Threshold (USD mm) | Target (USD mm) | Max (USD mm) | Actual (USD mm) | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Revenue | 20% | 63,460 | 66,460 | 67,210 | 66,890 | 157% |
| Total Net Additions (mm) | 20% | 4.022 | 6.022 | 6.772 | 6.427 | 154% |
| Core Adjusted EBITDA | 30% | 29,400 | 31,400 | 32,150 | 31,771 | 149% |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow | 30% | 15,250 | 16,500 | 17,250 | 17,424 | 200% |
| Total Corporate Attainment | — | — | — | — | — | 167% |
2024 Long‑Term Incentive (LTI) Grants (Award Mix: 50% PRSUs / 50% RSUs)
| Grant Date | Time‑Based RSUs (#) | Target R‑TSR PRSUs (#) | Target FCF PRSUs (#) | Grant Date Fair Value – RTSR ($) | Grant Date Fair Value – FCF ($) | Grant Date Fair Value – RSUs ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 15, 2024 | 16,260 | 10,569 | 5,691 | 1,729,828 | 894,796 | 2,556,560 |
Vesting mechanics: RSUs vest one‑third annually over 3 years; PRSUs vest after a 3‑year performance period based on relative TSR (peer group) and absolute FCF, subject to continued service .
Performance PRSUs Earned in 2024 (from 2021 Grants)
| Award Type | Target (#) | Performance Adjustment (%) | Earned (#) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTSR PRSUs (granted 3/4/2021) | 7,357 | 131% | 9,637 |
| FCF PRSUs (granted 3/4/2021) | 3,960 | 150% | 5,940 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
Beneficial Ownership
| Holder | Common Shares Beneficially Owned | Ownership % |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan A. Freier | 152,256 | <1% |
- Stock ownership guidelines require 3x base salary for executives reporting to the CEO; all then‑serving NEOs were in compliance as of Dec 31, 2024 . Anti‑hedging, anti‑short sale, and anti‑pledging policies are in place .
Outstanding Equity Awards (as of Dec 31, 2024)
| Grant Date | Unvested RSUs (#) | Market Value of Unvested RSUs ($) | Unearned PRSUs – RTSR (#) | Market/Payout Value RTSR ($) | Unearned PRSUs – FCF (#) | Market/Payout Value FCF ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/15/2024 | 16,260 | 3,589,070 | 10,569 | 4,665,791 | 5,691 | 1,256,174 |
| 2/15/2023 | 10,090 | 2,227,166 | 9,838 | 4,343,083 | 5,297 | 1,169,207 |
| 2/15/2022 | 5,299 | 1,169,648 | 10,334 | 4,562,048 | 5,563 | 2,455,842 |
2024 Vesting Activity
| Name | Shares Acquired on Vesting (#) | Value Realized on Vesting ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan A. Freier | 23,754 | 3,861,669 |
- Company does not currently grant stock options or option-like awards; no option exercises in fiscal 2024 .
Employment Terms
| Scenario | Cash Severance ($) | Time‑Based RSUs ($) | Performance‑Based RSUs ($) | 2024 STIP ($) | Medical ($) | Outplacement ($) | Total Estimated Value ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination in connection with reorganization before a Change in Control | 4,702,500 | 3,479,588 | 6,501,136 | 1,526,250 | 32,513 | 4,200 | 16,246,187 |
| Termination without cause or for good reason in connection with or after a Change in Control | 4,702,500 | 6,985,884 | 10,438,763 | 1,526,250 | 32,513 | 4,200 | 23,690,110 |
| Death or Disability | — | 6,985,884 | 10,438,763 | 1,526,250 | — | — | 18,950,897 |
- “No single‑trigger payments or vesting of equity awards upon a change in control” per program design . Clawback: Amended and Restated Executive Incentive Compensation Recoupment Policy adopted Sept 2023 (SEC/NASDAQ compliant), recovering excess incentive-based compensation in event of accounting restatements .
Compensation Peer Group (for benchmarking pay levels)
| Peer Company | Revenue (USD bn) | Market Cap (USD bn) |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T, Inc. | 122.34 | 163.38 |
| Verizon Communications Inc. | 134.79 | 168.34 |
| Comcast Corp. | 123.73 | 143.61 |
| Charter Communications, Inc. | 55.09 | 48.74 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 53.80 | 235.78 |
| Intel Corp. | 53.10 | 86.48 |
| IBM | 62.75 | 203.26 |
| Microsoft Corp. | 245.12 | 3,133.80 |
| Oracle Corp. | 52.96 | 466.08 |
| QUALCOMM Inc. | 38.96 | 170.67 |
| Disney | 91.36 | 201.65 |
| Liberty Global plc | 4.34 | 4.63 |
| Lumen Technologies, Inc. | 13.11 | 5.39 |
| T‑Mobile US, Inc. | 81.40 | 256.15 |
Investment Implications
- Strong pay-for-performance alignment: 2024 STIP paid at 167% on above‑target service revenue, net adds, Core Adj. EBITDA, and Adj. FCF; LTI mix equally split between PRSUs (R‑TSR and FCF) and RSUs with multi‑year vesting .
- Material ongoing equity exposure: significant unvested RSUs and unearned PRSUs across 2022–2024 vintages suggest continued retention hooks tied to operational and TSR/FCF outcomes; 2024 vestings realized $3.86M for Freier .
- Governance risk mitigants: anti‑hedging/short sale/pledging policy, no single‑trigger CoC vesting, and SEC/NASDAQ‑compliant clawback reduce misalignment and opportunistic trading or payout risks .
- Severance economics: change‑in‑control or involuntary separation would trigger substantial cash and equity acceleration (e.g., total estimated value up to $23.69M), which is consistent with large‑cap telecom peers and highlights both retention value and potential event‑driven cost .
Note: We attempted to retrieve Form 4 insider trading transactions for Jonathan Freier to assess recent selling pressure, but the insider-trades data source returned an authorization error; analysis relies on proxy-reported ownership and vesting data [insider-trades tool attempt].