Randall L. Stephenson

Randall L. Stephenson
Stephenson at the 2008 World Economic Forum
Born	(1960-04-22) April 22, 1960 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Central Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma
Occupation(s)	Chairman & CEO at AT&T, Inc. (2007-)

Randall L. Stephenson (born April 22, 1960 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American business executive.

U.S. jobs destroyed by Randall Stephenson since 2007: 54,000

Average effective federal corporate income tax rate, 2009-2011: 6.3%

Randall Stephenson presides over the biggest job destroyer among the Fix the Debt corporate supporters, having eliminated 54,000 jobs since 2007. The company also has one of the largest deficits in its worker pension fund — a gaping hole of $10 billion.

Can Stephenson blame all this belt-tightening on the Tax Man? Not exactly. Over the last three years, AT&T’s tax bills have been miniscule. According to the firm’s own financial reports, they’ve paid Uncle Sam only 6.3 percent on more than $43 billion in profits. If the telecom giant had paid the standard 35 percent corporate tax rate over the last three years, the federal deficit would be $12.5 billion lower.

So where have AT&T’s profits gone? A huge chunk has landed in Stephenson’s own pension fund. His $47 million AT&T retirement account is the third-largest among Fix the Debt CEOs. If converted to an annuity when he hits age 65, it would net him a retirement check of more than a quarter million dollars every month for the rest of his life.

While his economic future is more than secure, Stephenson emerged from a meeting with President Obama on November 28 “optimistic” about the chances of reforming (i.e., cutting) Social Security as part of a deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

Stephenson replaced Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. as chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc. 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.

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 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, a sum that was unchanged from the previous year which equated to a 6 percent increase over 2009. 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.

External links

• Official AT&T Bio
• Forbes.com Bio
• Wall Street Journal

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