Case Study · T-Mobile
After a major reorg, I was stripped of my previous team and left with 2 contractors and a blank org chart. No defined scope. No direction. I had to figure out what my team would own — while simultaneously making sure nothing fell through the cracks.
My first move was to partner with Product peers to understand their roadmap. A tactical play to hold the line while I did the harder strategic work of defining what this team would actually be.
Objective
"Build a team that owns the foundational digital experiences T-Mobile customers rely on every day."
Define the scope
Map the product surface. Find the open areas that mattered but had no ownership.
Build the team
Hire the right people — internal transfers and external hires — to own each area.
The Approach
I reviewed product roadmaps across the org, then grouped areas from a user-centered perspective — consolidating the many into four clear pillars. This became the blueprint for the team.
Search & Discovery
Helping customers find information quickly and navigate the platform with confidence.
Security & Authentication
Ensuring customers a secure and trustworthy way to manage their digital presence.
User Engagement & Support
Keeping customers informed, connected, and supported throughout their journey.
Network Services
Ensuring customers have reliable service and clear visibility into their coverage.
Building the team
It took 18 months to fully staff the team. I wasn't in a rush to fill seats. I looked for people who understood that foundational work — the unglamorous kind — is where the biggest leverage lives.
I hired both externally and through internal transfers, often pulling people I'd worked with before and trusted. By the end, we had 10 people covering all four pillars, with clear ownership and a shared sense of purpose.
We called ourselves the Foundations team.
2
contractors at the start
10
people, 4 pillars, full ownership
"Everyone wants to work on the next big thing. We owned the things that made everything else possible."
Selected outcomes across onboarding, authentication, and account management.
41→81%
LOA2+ sessions — passwordless authentication adoption
700K
fewer projected Care calls from improved onboarding flows
$6M
projected OPEX savings from self-service account closure
+5.9%
more customers verified before reaching a Care agent
53.6K
customers who recovered account access via selfie-based ID verification