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Chief Executive Leadership Institute Honors Randall L. Stephenson of AT&T with Legend in Leadership Award

December 17, 2019
powell
Randall L. Stephenson

Randall L. Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T, will accept the Legend in Leadership Award of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute on December 18, 2019 at a ceremony at the 100th Yale CEO Summit in New York City.

The award will be presented to Randall by Kay Koplovitz, founder, USA Networks, and managing partner, Springboard Growth Capital; Doug Parker, chairman and CEO, American Airlines Group; Glenn H. Hutchins, chairman of North Island and co-founder, Silverlake; and Joe Straus, speaker (2009-2019), Texas House of Representatives, and principal, La Cima Partners.

Summit organizer Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management, commented, “Randall Stephenson has been a leader in redefining the telecom and media industries – from kick-starting the mobile internet revolution to spearheading mobile 5G deployment in the U.S. to creating a modern media company that is now reshaping how consumers engage with their content. In the process, he has helped transform virtually every aspect of our lives at home and at work, and we are proud to recognize his accomplishments with this award.”

AT&T is one of the world’s largest companies in the technology, media and telecommunications space. It is made up of 4 segments: AT&T Communications, which provides more than 100 million U.S. consumers with entertainment and communications experiences across TV, mobile and broadband and serves 3 million business customers; WarnerMedia, which is home to iconic news and entertainment brands like HBO, CNN and Warner Bros.; AT&T Latin America, which offers mobile services to consumers and businesses in Mexico and digital entertainment services throughout South America and the Caribbean; and Xandr, which provides marketers with advanced advertising solutions. 

Randall Stephenson began his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1982, becoming CFO in 2001, then serving as Chief Operating Officer in 2004. He was named Chairman and CEO in 2007 and has accelerated AT&T’s transformation through the 2018 merger with Time Warner. Randall is past chairman of the Business Roundtable and has been a strong advocate on issues ranging from economic growth, global trade, education, equality and diversity.

The Legend in Leadership Award was created 25 years ago to honor current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations. Past recipients include: Colin Powell, retired four-star U.S. Army General, chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93), and 65th U.S. Secretary of State (2001–05); Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, chairman, president, and CEO, IBM Corporation; Janet Yellen, former chairman of the Board of Federal Reserves; Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever PLC; Mary T. Barra, chairman and chief executive of General Motors Company; Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO, Bank of America; David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman, The Carlyle Group; Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO, and George D. Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast; Marillyn Hewson CEO of Lockheed Martin; Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Ken Frazier, CEO of Merck; and FU Chengyu, former CEO, Sinopec. A full list of recipients can be found online.

The Summit theme is “We Don’t Look 100 and Neither Do You: 2020 Perspectives from the Pioneers of CEO Leadership Forums.” This Summit marks the 100th gathering of distinguished global corporate leaders from across industries at this invitation-only leaders’ conference hosted by the Yale School of Management.

Summit participants include: Lloyd C. Blankfein, senior chairman, The Goldman Sachs Group; Jeffrey L. Bewkes, former chairman and CEO, Time Warner Inc.; Danny Meyer, chief executive officer, Union Square Hospitality Group; Klaus Kleinfeld, chief executive officer, NEOM; Stuart A. Weitzman, founder, STUART WEITZMAN; Alan J. Patricof, managing director, Greycroft Partners; Mike Ullman, chairman, Starbucks; Ashton B. Carter; 25th U.S. Secretary of Defense and author, Inside the Five-Sided Box; Doug Parker, chairman and CEO, American Airlines Group; David J. Shulkin, 9th U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Richard V. Spencer, 76th U.S. Secretary of the Navy; Richard Adkerson, chief executive officer, Freeport-McMoRan; Neal Froneman, chief executive officer, Sibanye-Stillwater; Jim Sciutto, chief national security correspondent, CNN, and author, The Shadow War; Matthew S. Levatich, president and CEO, Harley-Davidson Inc.; Nicholas T. Pinchuk, chairman and CEO, Snap-on Incorporated; John D. Negroponte, deputy secretary (2007-2009), U.S. Department of State; Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and CEO, Blackstone; Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and CEO, AT&T; Vicki A. Hollub, president and CEO, Occidental; Andrew Ross Sorkin; editor, DealBook, The New York Times, and co-anchor, CNBC; Lynn Tilton, chief executive officer, Patriarch Partners; Gregory J. Fleming, president and CEO, Rockefeller Capital Management; John J. Legere, president and CEO, T-Mobile US; David Gibbs, chief executive officer-elect, Yum! Brands; Maggie Wilderotter, chairman and CEO, Grand Reserve Inn; Adam M. Aron, president and CEO, AMC Entertainment; and Anthony W. Marx, president and CEO, The New York Public Library.

Conference partners include AccuWeather, Deloitte, Evercore, Gladstone Place Partners, IBM, IEX, Korn Ferry, PepsiCo, Samsung, UPS, and CNBC.

The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute was founded in 1989 to provide original research on top leadership and lively, current educational forums through peer-driven learning for accomplished leaders across a range of sectors. For more information, visit http://celi.som.yale.edu/.