UScellular, the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, tapped AT&T Mexico executive Adriana Rios Welton to serve as head of legal and government affairs.

Welton is succeeding John Gockley, who will retire next month.

Welton has more than 11 years of legal experience, most recently serving as general counsel and vice president of regulatory and external affairs at AT&T Mexico, a subsidiary of AT&T, the largest carrier in the U.S. Before AT&T Mexico, she served as assistant vice president and senior legal counsel at DirecTV Latin America and an associate at New York-based Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.

In her new role, Welton will lead UScellular's regulatory and policy efforts at the state and federal level and provide legal counsel to the company's leadership team regarding transactional, regulatory, telecommunications, environmental and financial issues.

UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel said Welton will help the company advance its legal and regulatory plans, "including pursuing funding opportunities that will provide enhanced connectivity for our customers."

Chicago-based UScellular provides wireless telecommunications services to customers with 5 million connections in 21 states. The company has 4,800 employees and last year reported revenue of $4.1 billion and a profit of $160 million.