An inside look at the life of T-Mobile's eccentric CEO, who only wears magenta and has a live cooking show
Shortly after Legere made it a habit to regularly wear T-Mobile branded clothing, designers and companies began sending them branded versions of their own creations. Today, Legere's entire closet is filled with magenta. 'Part of my role at T-Mobile is the ability to just be myself, because I'm 58 years old and I've done very well, and I don't need to fight my way up the hierarchy with my suit and hair anymore,' Legere told us.
Legere has been an avid runner since high school, and ran on the University of Massachusetts Amherst track team. He serves on the New York Road Runners board and has run several sub-three-hour marathons in his 40s and 50s (that's fast!).
Legere said he wakes up 'EARLY' — not at a specific time, but usually runs on East Coast time, regardless of where he is in the world, to follow the stock market. He'll run, work out at the gym, or take a spin on his Peloton bike at least four times a week. He said he often goes for runs with his daughters when he's in New York City.
Legere is often on the road, but he makes sure to bring all his T-Mobile gear with him. Here he is holding his custom pressure cooker, featuring the Legere emoji Twitter made for him last year.
Why the pressure cooker? Each week, Legere hosts a 10-minute Facebook Live segment called 'Slow Cooker Sunday,' where he puts together a quick meal and answers viewers' questions. His latest one received more than 600,000 views.
Legere's office is filled with gifts he's been given, and they're often magenta.
His desk is also home to the Legere Doll, a plush version of himself that often makes cameos on Legere's social media and in T-Mobile television commercials.
Some more office decor.
Legere's also got a T-Mobile Segway, which he's taken around the office for a spin.
Legere made sure that his transformation of T-Mobile included getting his leadership team to follow his lead. Their meetings don't look like a bunch of suits in a bland room.
When he arrived in 2012, Legere decided that in order to revamp the company's culture, he needed to make himself known to as many of his 50,000 employees as possible. He keeps a color-coded list of the country's 18 major call centers, and has visited each at least five times to give talks and check progress. Before he leaves, he takes a round of selfies. Here's one from Atlanta.
Legere built his public persona by giving high-energy presentations, often dropping a few F-bombs at the expense of his main competitors, Verizon and AT&T. All of this, however, is practiced. Here he is studying notes ahead of the 2017 Winners Circle event, which he said he considers one of his favorite events of the year. He's accompanied by a Starbucks iced coffee that his colleagues always see him with.
At Winners Circle, Legere offered a choice of T-Mobile Vans high-tops, a T-Mobile jersey, or $100 cash to employees who would sing their question to him. T-Mobile told us that the Legere Doll will never be up for grabs — 'the doll is coveted by many — and only one exists.'
Since Legere took over, T-Mobile has seen its share of superfan employees — like this guy, a Winners Circle award winner whose custom T-Mobile apparel rivals Legere's. Legere called it a 'mangenta moment' (spelling intentional) and that he 'may have been outdone.'
Legere has a home base on both sides of the country, in Washington near T-Mobile's Bellevue headquarters and in New York City. Here he is kicking back in his Washington home after a long day. Legere said he "believes in long work days" because he loves his job.
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