Randall L. Stephenson

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.

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.

Stephenson is a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, the organization's governing body. 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.

Career timeline

• 1982 – Stephenson begins his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone in the information-technology organization in Oklahoma.
• Late 1980s through 1990s – He progresses through a series of leadership positions in finance, including an international assignment in Mexico City.
• July 2001 – Stephenson is appointed Chief Financial Officer for SBC, helping the company reduce its net debt from $30 billion to near zero by early 2004.
• 2003 to 2004 – Stephenson serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Cingular Wireless.
• April 2004 – Stephenson is named Chief Operating Officer of SBC.
• December 2004 – President Bush announces his intention to appoint Stephenson to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.
• November 2005 – Stephenson continues as COO following SBC's acquisition of AT&T. He is responsible for all wireless and wireline operations at AT&T.
• April 2007 – AT&T announces Stephenson will succeed Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Whitacre when he retires in June.
• March 2011 – AT&T announces bid to purchase T-Mobile USA.
• December 2011 – Following an antitrust challenge by the U.S. Department of Justice, AT&T announced it had withdrawn the bid, and would pay Deutsche Telekom the $4 billion in cash and wireless spectrum access specified in the original acquisition agreement.

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.

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.

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. His total compensation for 2011 was $22 million, an 18.5% drop from the $27 million he received the previous year.

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

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. 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.

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. 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.

External links

• Official AT&T Bio
• Forbes.com Bio
• Wall Street Journal
• Appearances on C-SPAN