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AT&T
Ed Whitacre announced that he will retire as CEO and chairman of the board at AT&T Inc. effective June 3. The 65-year-old executive is the longest-serving CEO in the telecommunications industry, having served as chairman and CEO of Southwestern Bell since 1990. When he took the reins 17 years ago, Southwestern Bell was the smallest of the Baby Bells, but Whitacre helped steer the company into the most recent reincarnation of AT&T, now the world’s largest communications company.
AT&T’s COO Randall Stephenson has been named Whitacre’s successor.
After beginning his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1982, Stephenson became CFO at SBC Communications Inc., which in 2004 acquired AT&T Corp. and BellSouth. He was also appointed to AT&T’s board of directors in 2005, and served on the Cingular Wireless L.L.C. board of directors from 2001 to 2006 and as chairman from 2003 to 2004.
In other news, James Ellis announced he will retire as AT&T’s senior VP and general counsel. Senior VP and Associate General Counsel Wayne Watts will replace Ellis upon Ellis’ retirement.
In Memorium
Dobson Communications Corp. announced that its treasurer, Richard Sewell, died the evening of April 26. CFO Bruce Knooihuizen will manage Dobson’s treasury activities on an interim basis, the company announced. “Apart from his many significant contributions to Dobson in his professional capacity as treasurer, Richard was a source of wisdom, encouragement and good counsel to many of us at Dobson Communications,” Chairman Everett Dobson said. “He was a good friend and he will be missed.”
MobiTV
Phillip Alvelda, founder and CEO of MobiTV Inc., will resign as CEO but remain as chairman of the California-based mobile television company that he formed in 1999. The company is looking for a successor. Alvelda also announced a range of other executive appointments and changes to the firm’s management team.
Co-Founder Paul Scanlan was appointed to the new role of president, while Bruce Gilpin will fill his shoes as COO. Finally, Bill Losch was lured away from Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. to serve as CFO.
“I’m enormously proud of the great success we’ve achieved and the role MobiTV has played in defining the mobile entertainment market, yet mindful of the tremendous potential still ahead,” Alvelda said, adding that he plans to spend more time at the Westminster Institute for Science Education, which he co-founded last year. V-Enable
Mobile search provider V-Enable Inc. announced it appointed Emerick Woods to serve as CEO of the company. Woods most recently served as president and CEO of Aligo Inc. “I’m excited to be joining V-Enable, as the mobile voice search market is undergoing profound change and this is an extraordinary time to be a part of the V-Enable story,” Woods said.
Motorola
Motorola Inc. hired a platform technology guru for its mobile devices business, a pragmatic move that reflects the handset giant’s efforts to revive its fortunes.
Alain Mutricy, an 18-year veteran at Texas Instruments Inc., is set to join Motorola as senior VP for platform technology. He will report to Terry Vega, the executive in charge of products and technology and co-leader of the mobile devices business.
Mutricy will define and direct global strategy for silicon and software platforms, according to Motorola. The handset vendor has embarked on a program to diversify its semiconductor suppliers, simplify its platform strategy and speed time to market for its handsets; those factors were touched upon in the company’s announcement of Mutricy’s hiring. From 2004 until now, Mutricy served TI as general manager for the chip company’s cellular systems solutions business.