AT&T Inc. announced that Stan Sigman, president and chief executive officer, AT&T Mobility, will retire after 42 years with the company. Ralph de la Vega, group president-Regional Telecom & Entertainment, was named president and CEO, AT&T Mobility, replacing Sigman, effective immediately. Sigman will assist with the transition through year-end.
“Stan is one of the industry’s most outstanding and accomplished leaders,” says AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson, noting that Sigman was instrumental in growing the business.
AT&T’s Sigman to Retire; de la Vega to Lead Wireless Unit; Stankey to Lead Telecom Operations
John Stankey, AT&T group president-Operations Support, will add the company’s regional telecom operations to his current responsibilities. Stankey’s appointment to group president-Telecom Operations is effective immediately.
Mr. de la Vega is returning to AT&T’s wireless unit where he served as chief operating officer from 2004 to 2006. During that time, de la Vega successfully led the integration of the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger, planning for the iPhone, the deployment of 3G service, and the introduction of numerous industry shaping new devices and services. Before joining Cingular, he served as president-BellSouth Latin America. He also served as BellSouth’s president of Broadband and Internet Services.
Mr. Stankey will now be responsible for sales, marketing, operations and network for AT&T’s five regional telecom units, in addition to his current responsibilities, which include customer care, IT, network operations, planning and engineering, procurement and corporate real estate. Stankey has led the company’s transition to IP networks, the deployment of AT&T’s ground-breaking AT&T U-verseâ„¢ TV service, improvements in operational efficiency, and the majority of merger synergies achieved through the AT&T Corp. and BellSouth acquisitions. Previously, Stankey was chief information officer for the company, served as president and CEO of AT&T’s Southwest region, and was president of Industry Markets, AT&T’s wholesale division.
“Our company has great momentum and a strong team that is moving quickly to put all of AT&T’s networks, products and innovative services to work for customers — connecting them to their world, everywhere they live and work, better than anyone else,” Stephenson said.
Stankey and de la Vega will continue reporting to Stephenson.