Qwest CEO puts home on market
Ed Mueller wants to sell his house near Cherry Creek, but Qwest says he won't leave Denver.
By Andy Vuong
Denver Post
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Qwest chief executive Ed Mueller has put his 9,200-square-foot mansion near Cherry Creek on the market for $4.7 million.

Mueller, 62, bought the century-old home for $4.4 million in November 2007, three months after he was hired to succeed former Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert.

Mueller and his wife, Susan, don't have plans to leave the Denver area, said Qwest spokeswoman Johnna Hoff.

"Ed and Susan love Denver, and they have no intentions of moving," Hoff said. "They're simply exploring other homes in other areas of the city."

Mueller moved to Denver from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was CEO of cookware retailer Williams-Sonoma from 2003 to 2006.

As part of his employment agreement with Qwest, the Denver-based company purchased Mueller's house in California for $8.9 million in September 2007. Qwest sold the house three months later for $7.1 million, eating a $1.8 million loss. Qwest also paid about $44,000 to maintain the house while the company owned it, according to a regulatory filing.

In 2008, Mueller earned $10.4 million in total compensation.

He just wrapped up the second year of a three-year contract that, beginning in August 2010, renews automatically in one-year increments if neither party objects.

Under Mueller's leadership, Qwest stock has fallen by more than 50 percent, closing Tuesday at $3.81 a share.  The company, however, has continued to post profits, thanks largely to cost cuts.

Mueller put his six-bedroom, five-bathroom Denver Country Club home up for sale in June.

Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_13154526