Q&AA: T-Mobile CEO John Legere Loves to Be Hated

John Legere is already trolling me and we haven't even been on the phone for a minute. "I'm so excited to speak with such a famous reporter," he says. I'm not famous, but Legere, T-Mobile's chief executive, is. Yet before he joined the company in 2012, consumers didn't have a clue who he was. At times, Legere can be alternatively goofy and rebellious, but is able to get away with it because he delivers (he's more than doubled the company's market cap since being hired). Now-commonplace offers from wireless carriers—no contracts, unlimited data, upgrade whenever you want—originated in T-Mobile's five-year-old "Un-carrier" marketing campaign, which Legere credits with fixing the worst aspects of cellphone plans. We spoke with him to see how much method underpins the madness. Our conversation has been edited.