The Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business began the Stan Sigman Leadership and Innovation Series in 2021 with the support and cooperation of the Friends of Stan Sigman. The series was launched to honor Stan Sigman, who was a beloved and prominent alumnus of WT having graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1970. Having started his career in telecommunications and wireless in Hereford, TX, Stan Sigman went on to be widely recognized as a visionary leader in the wireless industry having led the merger of Cingular Wireless and AT&T to ultimately become AT&T Mobility. Stan is best known as having forged a landmark partnership with Apple and Steve Jobs to bring the iPhone to the world. In 2021, the featured speaker in the Stan Sigman Leadership and Innovation Series was Ralph De La Vega, who was a contemporary of Stan Sigman’s and the former Vice Chairman of AT&T Inc. and CEO of Business Solutions & International.
For 2022, the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business is honored to host Jeff McElfresh, COO of AT&T, who will address both students, and the broader community. AT&T’s support of WT and the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business underscores the magnitude of Stan Sigman’s enduring legacy. Jeff McElfresh will speak at 9:45 a.m., Oct. 27, in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on the Canyon campus.
McElfresh has 27 years of experience with AT&T in a variety of strategic, operational and technology leadership roles. Most of his career has been in AT&T’s Mobility business — the biggest single driver of AT&T’s consolidated revenues.
McElfresh most recently served as the chief executive officer of AT&T Communications, where he led nearly 200,000 employees, and prior to that, the president of its Technology and Operations group where he led a team of more than 90,000 employees and was responsible for the company’s network, technology, cybersecurity, data and labs operations. In that role, he led the team that won AT&T recognition for having the best, fastest and most reliable wireless network in the country.
He also previously served as: CEO of AT&T’s Vrio and its DIRECTV Latin America and SKY Brasil businesses from 2015 to 2018; senior vice president in AT&T’s Strategy and Corporate Development group; and president of AT&T Mexico and a member of the board of directors and executive committee of Telmex and América Móvil, overseeing AT&T’s since-divested minority interest in the two companies. Early in his career, he held several operational positions with AT&T’s (BellSouth International) wireless businesses in Latin America.
For more information about this event, contact Dr. Jeffry Babb, the Sigman Professor of Business.