Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA: The Wireless Association, said Oct. 25 he would not be seeking an extension when his contract expires at the end of next year.
Largent, a former congressman from Oklahoma and NFL Hall of Famer with the Seattle Seahawks, has headed CTIA since 2003.
Largent said he wanted to give the board enough time to plan, but it also puts the association in transition mode at the same time it will be dealing with the FCC incentive auctions, which are also supposed to be completed by the end of 2014.
"I will ensure that there will be no impact on our efforts to secure certainty in the FCC auction process as well as successfully transition our trade shows into a new schedule," Largent said in announcing his decision.
"While I am going to deeply miss working with my CTIA colleagues and on behalf of our members, I'm very excited about the opportunity to spend more time with my wife Terry and our family, which is about to include our eighth grandchild," Largent said.
"Steve has done an outstanding job of effectively advocating on behalf of the industry, and the contributions of his team under his leadership have been invaluable in helping us grow as impressively as we have and to assume the role of the world leader in wireless services and products," said Verizon Wireless President and CTIA Chairman Dan Mead in a statement. "On behalf of the entire CTIA membership, we want to thank Steve for his hard work, commitment and impeccable integrity, and for being such a trusted and successful advocate for this great industry."
