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U S West chief to leave
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February 29, 2000: 3:27 p.m. ET
One of few Hispanic CEOs cites differences with new bosses at Qwest
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Citing differences with the new owners, Solomon Trujillo, the chairman and chief executive of U S West Inc., will be out of a job when its purchase by Qwest Communications International Inc. closes later this year.
When the deal for the Denver-based Baby Bell was announced last July, Trujillo was slated to join Joseph Nacchio, the Qwest chief executive, and Philip Anschutz, the Qwest chairman, in what was to be described as "the office of the chair" of the new Qwest (Q: Research, Estimates).
But in a statement sent to U S West (USW: Research, Estimates) employees Tuesday, Trujillo said that he and Qwest officials could not agree on key strategic issues, including leadership appointments, the structure of the organization and the role of the office of the chair.
"For this merger to work for customers and shareholders alike, it is essential for the leadership to be in full alignment on all these key issues," said his letter to employees, which was released by the company Tuesday. "Accordingly, I have decided to accommodate the views of my counterpart so that he can shape the people selection, organization and governance of the new Qwest by his values and priorities."
At the time the $39.6 billion purchase was announced in July, Trujillo's role in the combined company was reported to be one of the sticking points in the final negotiations.
U S West was involved in merger talks with Global Crossing Ltd. (GBLX: Research, Estimates) at the time that the deal with Qwest was finally hammered out.
A spokesman with Qwest said that Trujillo notified the boards of both companies last week that he would be leaving.
"We believe there is 90-to-95 percent agreement on strategic issues related to the merger," said Tyler Gronbach, spokesman for Denver-based Qwest. He said that the senior management team should be announced late this week or early next week.
Trujillo, 49, is one of a small number of Hispanic chief executives among Fortune 500 companies.
He was had been president and chief executive of U S West Communications Group, then the telephone division of U S West, when the company spun off its MediaOne cable and international business unit in June, 1998. He became chief executive of the remaining company at that time and assumed the chairman title in May.
Trujillo's statement did not make mention of his plans after the deal closes.
Shares of U S West slipped 3/8 to 71-1/2 in trading Tuesday afternoon, while shares of Qwest gained 1/16 to 46-1/16. 
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