Mueller also is able to buy 2.083 million shares of Qwest common stock for $8.37 per share; the board also granted a restricted stock award of 896,000 shares.

    Qwest has given Mueller other perks as well. For example, he’ll receive an annual flexible benefit of $75,000 in cash, which Qwest positions as a payment made in lieu of various other perks often given to executives. Qwest also will pay Mueller’s moving and temporary housing expenses and cover the costs of a home security system. And if Mueller isn’t able to sell his current home by March 31, 2008, Qwest will buy the residence.

    Mueller and Qwest also negotiated several terms in case Mueller is asked to resign before the three-year agreement comes due.

    In the meantime,Notebaert has agreed to remain a Qwest employee until Aug. 15 to help Mueller with the transition.

    Notebaert will leave with a plush severance package. His base salary will double, from $1.1 million to $2.2 million. He’ll also receive a $4.4 million bonus, as well as a $2.2 million prorated bonus for 2007. There also is $140,000 in lifelong health benefits and an unspecified amount for an executive assistant, phone services and computer and other office equipment “for the rest of his life,” according to a March 29, 2007, proxy statement filed with the SEC. The overall package totals more than $14.45 million.

    Notebaert came to Qwest in 2002 from equipment provider Tellabs Inc., where he had served as president and CEO for two years. Before that, he was with Ameritech Corp. for 30 years; his last position there was as chairman and CEO. He took the top post at Qwest during a turbulent time for the industry and for the carrier. The board of the cashstrapped company had just fired CEO Nacchio, who was under fire for accounting fraud. A federal jury in mid-April of this year found Nacchio guilty on 19 of 42 counts of illegal insider trading. He has been sentenced to six years in prison; he is expected to appeal.