Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
AT&T announced CEO Randall Stephenson will retire. President and COO John Stankey will take over the position on July 1.
Stephenson, 60, said in February that he would remain CEO for the rest of the year, though he refused to project beyond that date. He will remain executive chairman of the board until January 2021.
Stankey recently dropped his position as CEO of AT&T’s WarnerMedia, which will soon be led by Hulu co-founder Jason Kilar.
Elliott Management, the activist investment firm that pushed for executive changes at AT&T said it “supports” Stankey as the company’s next CEO. The firm has previously been skeptical of putting Stankey at the helm of the company, CNBC previously reported.
“We have been engaged with the company throughout the search process, which was a robust one, including a range of highly qualified outside candidates and overseen by independent directors,” the firm said in a statement.
Stankey takes over AT&T as the company is navigating the Covid-19 pandemic while juggling debt, a bleeding subscriber base for DirecTV and the streaming wars.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
