Randall L. Stephenson

Randall L. Stephenson

Stephenson at the 2008 World Economic Forum
36th President of the Boy Scouts of America
Assumed office
May 26, 2016
Preceded by Robert Gates
Personal details
Born Randall Lynn Stephenson
(1960-04-22) April 22, 1960
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Spouse(s) Lenise
Children 2
Residence Dallas, Texas
Alma mater University of Central Oklahoma (B.S.)
University of Oklahoma (Master of Accountancy)
Occupation Chairman, CEO and President of AT&T (2007-present)

Randall Lynn Stephenson (born April 22, 1960) is an American telecommunications executive. He is the current chairman, chief executive officer and President of AT&T Inc since May 9, 2007. He is also the 36th National President of the Boy Scouts of America, serving since 2016.

Biography

Stephenson earned a B.S. from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma.[1]

Stephenson 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. In July 2001, he was appointed 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.[2]

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.[3] 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. In 2013, Stephenson received $23,247,167 in total compensation, with a base salary of $1,633,333.[4] 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.[5]

Stephenson was named the 2016 CEO of the Year by Chief Executive magazine.[6]

Scouting

Stephenson joined the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Executive Board in 2005 and became a member of the executive committee in 2008. In 2016, he succeeded Robert Gates as the 36th National President of the BSA.[7]

He, as well as fellow boardmember James Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young, publicly opposed the BSA's former 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.[8][9]

Personal

Stephenson is a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=7824
  2. ↑ "WSJ on Randal Stephenson". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
  3. ↑ "AT&T said to block 4chan; pranksters fight back". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ↑ "Randall Stephenson: Executive Profile and Biography". Bloomberg Businessweek.
  5. ↑ "AT&T Fires President Over Racist Text, $100M Lawsuit Goes On". cbslocal.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Donlon, J.P. (July–August 2016). "How Randall Stephenson Took AT&T Into the Future of Digital". Chief Executive (283): 28–36.
  7. ↑ "Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO, elected BSA national president". 26 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Cobb, Joshua (July 17, 2012). "AT&T CEO commits to ending ban on gay Boy Scouts, leaders". Retrieved January 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ "Membership Roster – Council on Foreign Relations". Cfr.org. Retrieved 2012-09-15.
Boy Scouts of America
Preceded by
Robert Gates		 President of the Boy Scouts of America
2016–Present 		Incumbent
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