AT&T announced the appointment of John Stankey as president and chief operating officer of AT&T.
John Stankey, 56, will be reporting to Randall Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T. John Stankey will also continue serving as CEO of WarnerMedia.
AT&T never had the role of president and chief operating officer to manage its operations. The development indicates that AT&T may be creating a succession plan for the 59-year old Randall Stephenson. Industry believes that AT&T leadership team needs a strong team to take on Verizon.
The company named AT&T executive Jeff McElfresh as the CEO of AT&T Communications that is currently serving 100 million mobile, broadband and pay-TV customers in the United States, and millions of business customers.
Jeff McElfresh, 48, will be the replacement for John Donovan, who earlier announced his retirement. Jeff McElfresh will report to John Stankey. Brian Lesser, CEO of Xandr, will also report to John Stankey.
The annual salary of John Stankey was $16.6 million as the CEO of AT&T’s WarnerMedia. Randall Stephenson, as the chairman and CEO of AT&T, received an annual package of $29.1 million in 2018.
John Stankey joined AT&T in 1985 and served in leadership roles, including: corporate strategy and M&A; media and entertainment; operations, IT and technology; consumer mobility, broadband and TV; and enterprise business.
Jeff McElfresh has nearly 25 years of experience with AT&T in strategic, operational and technology leadership roles.
Jeff McElfresh was president of AT&T Communications’ Technology and Operations group responsible for the company’s network, technology, cybersecurity, data and labs operations. Prior to that, Jeff McElfresh served as CEO of AT&T’s Vrio and its DIRECTV Latin America and SKY Brasil businesses; and president of AT&T Mexico.
At present, the AT&T leadership team includes CEO Randall L Stephenson; William A. Blase, Jr., senior EVP – Human Resources; David S. Huntley, senior EVP — Chief Compliance Officer; Lori Lee, CEO – AT&T Latin America & Global Marketing Officer; David R. McAtee II, senior EVP and general counsel; Angela Santone, chief administrative officer; COO John Stankey and John J. Stephens, senior EVP and chief financial officer of AT&T.
Image source: LA Times
