Randall L. Stephenson

Randall L. Stephenson

Stephenson at the 2008 World Economic Forum
Born Randall Lynn Stephenson
(1960-04-22) April 22, 1960
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Residence Dallas, Texas
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Central Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma
Occupation [1]Chairman & CEO of AT&T
Employer AT&T
Salary US$ Increase $1.6 million (2013)

Randall Lynn Stephenson (born April 22, 1960) is an American business executive.

Stephenson is the current chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc. He succeeded Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. in 2007. He was senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, which he joined in 1982. He was elected as a director of AT&T Inc. in June 2005. He also serves as a director of AT&T Mobility and Emerson Electric Co.[2]

He holds a B.S. from the University of Central Oklahoma and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma. Stephenson is also a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[3]

Stephenson is a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, the organization's governing body.[4] He, as well as fellow boardmember James Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young, have publicly opposed the BSA's policy banning openly gay Scouts and stated their intention "to work from within the BSA Board to actively encourage dialogue and sustainable progress" in changing the policy.[5][6]

Career timeline

Compensation

In 2009, Stephenson's compensation as CEO of AT&T totaled $20,240,457, including a base salary of $1,450,000, a cash bonus of $5,850,000, options grants worth $75,834, stock grants worth $11,999,991, and other compensation totaling $864,632.[9]

In 2010, compensation totaled $20.2 million. His cash incentive payment totaled $5.05 million, down 14 percent from the year before. Most of his 2010 compensation was in the form of options and performance-based stock awards valued at $13.2 million, up 10 percent from 2009.[10]

According to a February 2012 regulatory filing, Stephenson's compensation for 2011 was cut by "more than $2 million" in response to the effect that the failed attempt to purchase T-Mobile USA had had on AT&T's bottom line.[11] His total compensation for 2011 was $22 million, an 18.5% drop from the $27 million he received the previous year.[11]

In 2013, Stephenson received $23,247,167 in total compensation, with a base salary of $1,633,333.[12]

Controversies

In April 2015, Stephenson was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed by Knoyme King, an assistant at AT&T. According to King, Stephenson was complicit in covering up racist texts sent by then-President Aaron Slator.[13] A group of demonstrators at AT&T's headquarters in Dallas currently demand Stephenson resign immediately from AT&T for his role in the alleged cover-up. On April 28, 2015, it was reported that protesters were picketing outside Stephenson's Preston-Hollow home and planned to continue the protest until AT&T resolved the pending $100 Million lawsuit from King as well as the $10 Billion suit from the NAAAOM over alleged failure to work with 100% black-owned media companies.[14][15]

False Death Report

On July 26, 2009, Stephenson was falsely reported as having died after falling into a coma following a massive cocaine binge during a party at his mansion.[16] The report originated from CNN's iReport website, although it was later taken down. Although the hackers who created the false report have never been identified, it is suspected that they were 4chan users who did the hack in retaliation for AT&T's decision to block the site for its broadband customers, a decision which had been provoked by an earlier denial-of-service attack against one of AT&T's customers that originated from a 4chan user. Access to 4chan on AT&T broadband services has since been restored.

References

  1. "Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - AT&T Investor Relations - AT&T". att.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. "Stephenson, Randall". Reuters. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  3. "Membership Roster – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  4. Boy Scouts of America Annual Report 2011
  5. Cobb, Joshua (July 17, 2012). "AT&T CEO commits to ending ban on gay Boy Scouts, leaders". Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  6. 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.
  7. "WSJ on Randal Stephenson". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  8. AT&T (December 19, 2011). "AT&T Ends Bid To Add Network Capacity Through T-Mobile USA Purchase". AT&T.
  9. "2009 CEO Compensation for Randall L. Stephenson". Equilar.
  10. "AT&T CEO 2010 pay totals $20.2M, flat with 2009". Wall Street Journal.
  11. 1 2 Stacy Cowley (February 22, 2012). "AT&T CEO pay docked $2 million for T-Mobile debacle". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2012-02-23. Despite a 'strong operational performance,' Stephenson's compensation was slashed by 'more than $2 million' as a reflection of the heavy toll T-Mobile took on the company's bottom line, AT&T said.
  12. "Randall Stephenson: Executive Profile and Biography". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  13. "AT&T Fires President Over Racist Text, $100M Lawsuit Goes On". cbslocal.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  14. "Protesters Picket AT&T CEO's Dallas Estate". CNN iReport. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  15. National Association for African American Owned Media (27 April 2015). "NAAAOM and Entertainment Studios to Amend $10 Billion Lawsuit against AT&T and... -- LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  16. "AT&T said to block 4chan; pranksters fight back". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

External links

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