Randall L. Stephenson

Randall Lynn Stephenson (born April 22, 1960) is a retired American telecommunications executive. He served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of AT&T Inc. from May 9, 2007 – June 30, 2020 and as executive chairman of AT&T Inc. from July 1 until December 31, 2020.[1][2] He served as National President of the Boy Scouts of America from 2016 to 2018. In April 2020, Stephenson announced he would step down as CEO of AT&T effective July 1, 2020, replaced by John Stankey.[3] In November 2020, Stephenson announced he would step down as executive chairman of AT&T effective January 2021, replaced by William Kennard.[4]

Randall L. Stephenson
37th National President of the Boy Scouts of America
In office
2016–2018
Preceded byRobert Gates
Succeeded byJim Turley
Personal details
Born
Randall Lynn Stephenson

(1960-04-22) April 22, 1960
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
SpouseLenise
Children2
EducationUniversity of Central Oklahoma (BS)
University of Oklahoma (MAcc)
OccupationExecutive Chairman, AT&T

Biography

Stephenson earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma,[5] then began his career in 1982 with Southwestern Bell Telephone in the information-technology organization in Oklahoma. Late in the 1980s through 1990s, he progressed through a series of leadership positions in finance, including an international assignment in Mexico City overseeing SBC's investment in Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex), where, according to Bloomberg, he was mentored by Carlos Slim.[6] In July 2001, he was appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer for SBC, helping the company reduce its net debt from $30 billion to near zero by early 2004. From 2003 to 2004, Stephenson served as chairman of the board of directors for Cingular Wireless. In 2004, he was named chief operating officer of SBC and also appointed by President Bush as National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Stephenson continued as COO following SBC's acquisition of AT&T in 2005, responsible for all wireless and wireline operations at AT&T. In April 2007, AT&T announced Stephenson would succeed retiring Edward Whitacre as CEO and serve as chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc..

In 2008 Randall Stephenson helped AT&T launch AT&T Aspire and led their "It Can Wait" campaign.[7]

Stephenson led AT&T through the failed acquisition of T-Mobile.

Stephenson was chairman of the Business Roundtable from 2014 to 2016.[8]

In September 2016, Stephenson gave a speech regarding race relations at AT&T’s annual Employee Resource Group conference in Dallas. An employee posted a video of the speech to YouTube, in which Stephenson asked attendees to make a greater effort to understand each other and communicate better through a compelling witness defending Black Lives Matter despite racial tensions in the United States.[9]

During his tenure as CEO, AT&T acquired DirecTV for $49 billion in July 2015 and Time Warner for $85 billion in June 2018. According to Drew FitzGerald of The Wall Street Journal, Stephenson has "transformed the phone company he inherited into one of the world's biggest entertainment companies."[10]

On July 1, 2020, Stephenson retired as CEO of AT&T. He was succeeded by then-COO John Stankey.[11] At the time Stephenson announced his departure, it was acknowledged that the acquisitions of DirectTV and Time Warner had by this point resulted in a massive debt burden of $200 billion for the company,[12] forcing the company to cut back on its capital investments.[13]

Scouting

He was the 37th National President of the Boy Scouts of America, serving from 2016[14] until 2018.[15] Stephenson, as well as fellow board member Jim Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young, publicly opposed the BSA's practice of banning openly gay Scouts and stated their intention "to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress."[16]

PGA Tour Policy Board

Stephenson served from 2012 to 2023 on the policy board of the PGA Tour. He resigned in a July 8, 2023 letter citing “serious concerns” about the tour's partnership with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. In his resignation letter, Stephenson said the framework of the deal “is not one that I can objectively evaluate or in good conscience support, particularly in light of the U.S. intelligence report concerning Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.”[17]

Personal life

Stephenson maintains homes in Preston Hollow, Dallas and Olmos Park, San Antonio, Texas, and Teton Village, WY. Stephenson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[18]

See also

References
  1. "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. AT&T, the telecommunications giant that has moved into media and entertainment, announced a changing of the guard on Friday. John Stankey, a veteran of the company, will become its new chief executive starting July 1. He will take the reins from Randall L. Stephenson, who has led AT&T since 2007.
  2. "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. Mr. Stephenson, 60, will stay on as executive chairman of the board through this year, the company said in a statement.
  3. "AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson to step down, COO Stankey to take over". CNBC. April 24, 2020.
  4. "William Kennard to Become AT&T Board Chairman; Randall Stephenson Quoted". GovCon Wire. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  5. "Stephenson Profile". www.att.com (Press release).
  6. Moritz, Scott; Smith, Gerry (24 October 2016). "AT&T Dealmaker Is a Carlos Slim Protege With a List in Cloud". Bloomberg.com.
  7. "AT&T It Can Wait | Take the Pledge to Drive Distraction Free". about.att.com. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  8. "AT&T Chairman & CEO Randall Stephenson Named Chairman of Business Roundtable" (Press release). Business Roundtable. September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  9. Brian Fung (September 30, 2016). "Watch AT&T's CEO give a forceful defense of Black Lives Matter". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  10. Drew FitzGerald (June 12, 2018). "AT&T Chief Gambled and Won Big". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  11. "AT&T Names John Stankey C.E.O. as Randall Stephenson Plans to Retire". The New York Times. April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021. John Stankey, a veteran of the company, will become its new chief executive starting July 1. He will take the reins from Randall L. Stephenson, who has led AT&T since 2007. Mr. Stankey, 57, became the chief operating officer last October and has managed the bulk of the company's operations since then.
  12. "AT&T Spins Off DirecTV After Losing Billions On Its TV Dreams". March 4, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  13. "AT&T Is Spinning Off WarnerMedia to Focus on Telecoms Again". May 18, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  14. "Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO, elected BSA national president" (Press release). Scouting Magazine. 26 May 2016.
  15. "Thank You, Randall Stephenson And Welcome, Jim Turley" (Press release). Boy Scouts of America. May 26, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. McGregor, Jena (July 19, 2012). "After Boy Scouts of America reaffirms exclusion of gays, the biggest leadership question remains". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  17. Maese, Rick (2023-07-09). "Randall Stephenson resigns from PGA Tour policy board over LIV deal". Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  18. "Membership Roster – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
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