FRANKFURT -- Deutsche Telekom AG chief executive Kai-Uwe Ricke will step down from Europe's biggest telecommunications company today, the company said late yesterday .
Ricke, who took over as chief executive four years ago, made the decision after the company's board met yesterday. He had been under pressure from shareholders who were unhappy with the company's lowered profit and sales forecasts amid fierce competition in Germany.
German media had been rife with speculation since Thursday that Ricke's tenure was on the edge after the company reported a 20 percent decline in its third-quarter net profit and slowing growth in most of its markets, save for the lucrative cellular business in the United States.
