AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson Steps Down, COO John Stankey To Replace Him

TOPLINE

Randall Stephenson will step down as AT&T CEO on July 1, capping a 13-year tenure where he oversaw the company’s controversial acquisitions of DirecTV and Time Warner, leaving AT&T saddled with a massive debt burden.

KEY FACTS

Key background

Because movie theaters are closed, television and movie productions are on pause and advertising revenue is cratering, AT&T is facing significant financial uncertainty due to the coronavirus. The company added to its debt pile by taking out a new $5.5 billion loan in April to deal with the fallout while signaling that layoffs could be coming as it seeks to cut costs.

crucial quote

“I congratulate John, and I look forward to partnering with him as the leadership team moves forward on our strategic initiatives while navigating the difficult economic and health challenges currently facing our country and the world,” Stephenson said.

Chief critic

President Donald Trump took aim at Stephenson and AT&T, which acquired CNN in the Time Warner deal.

“Great News! Randall Stephenson, the CEO of heavily indebted AT&T, which owns and presides over Fake News @CNN, is leaving, or was forced out. Anyone who lets a garbage “network” do and say the things that CNN does, should leave ASAP. Hopefully replacement will be much better!” he tweeted.

what’s next

AT&T is launching its new streaming service, HBO Max on May 27, which will be loaded with a deep catalogue of content it bought in the Time Warner acquisition. At $14.99 per month—a more expensive price point than Netflix—AT&T is hoping for 50 million subscribers by 2025.

Further reading

AT&T Announces $5.5 Billion Loan, Signals Layoffs May Be Coming (Forbes)

AT&T CEO’s Multimillion Compensation Increased While Thousands Of Employees Were Terminated (Forbes)