CEO is out $2 million himself
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson could have earned millions more in a deal to consummate T-Mobile, had it gone through. The regulatory filing by AT&T stated, “As a result, despite strong operational performance, Mr. Stephenson’s compensation was reduced by more than $2 million, including a 25 percent cut in his short-term award, a significant reduction in his payout percentage relative to other managers.”
Most of Stephenson’s paycheck comes primarily from direct performance and this CEO will find his pocketbook a little lighter. The reason he was docked so much is due to the epic failed $39 billion deal, that requires AT&T to hand over $4.2 billion in cash and spectrum rights to T-Mobile.
The deal was essentially thwarted by governmental regulations of the Federal Communications Commission and Stephenson claims the FCC is, “picking the winners and the losers” and goes on in bitter resentment saying, “The rules are so fluid, you can drink out of them right now.” Stephenson vies for congress to dictate how the FCC would run the further auctions, set conditions on who can bid and how the spectrum can be used.
The House of Representatives has drafted such a bill but the FCC, amongst others has opposed it, claiming such a bill would give certain carriers an unfair advantage. The chief of the FCC wireless communications bureau, Rick Kaplan stated, “As the Chairman has said, our goal and intention for spectrum auctions is that every carrier–big, medium, or small–that needs additional spectrum should have a meaningful chance to bid for it.”
Either way upcoming changes or nullifications will not put the $2 million dollars in Stephenson’s already $18 million piggy bank.
