Top 10 CEOs In The Telco Industry Worldwide
Kicking off 2024, here at Mobile Magazine we are highlighting the success of the CEOs at the helm of some of the world’s largest and most successful telecom providers, operators and companies across the globe. These individuals, and the companies they represent, are key to connecting communities and businesses and are driving forces behind shaping the digital landscape, revolutionising communication.
10. Ke Ruiwen
A senior engineer with a PhD in Business Administration from ESC Rennes School of Business, Ke boasts extensive experience in management across the telecommunications industry. Serving as both Chairman & CEO at China Telecom, he is also General Manager & Director at China Telecommunications and has sat on its Board of Directors since May 2012. He has previously worked as Chairman-Supervisory Board at China Tower.
Takahashi has been at the helm of KDDI since April 2018 and has been in senior leadership positions since 2010. He joined the company when he became a Member of the Board, a position he still holds, in June 2007. During his tenure, Takahashi has served as a General Manager for Value Business Sector and Corporate Strategy Planning Division and Senior Vice President, General Manager for Group Strategy Sector. He joined the business in April 1984, after graduating from Yokohama National University with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.
8. Tom Bartlett
President and CEO of American Tower, Bartlett joined the company in April 2009 as EVP and CFO. His experience across the telecommunication industry is vast, featuring a quarter-century stint at Verizon and its predecessor companies and affiliates, including President and CEO of Bell Atlantic, where he was responsible for wireless activities in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He began his career at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, now Deloitte.
He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s ICT Board of Governors, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust (NAREIT) Executive Committee and the Business Roundtable. He has an MBA from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University.
Dubey is Global CEO for NTT and Member of Board of Directors for NTT and NTT Inc. He joined the business in February 2021 from McKinsey and Co, where he most recently served as a Senior Partner and Core Leader of the Global TMT Practice. With 20 years advising technology companies on everything from strategy to organisational effectiveness, driving rapid transformation and delivering innovation at scale and an MS in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering undergraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, Dubey is passionate about using technology for good.
6. John Stankey
Stankey has spent almost 40 years at AT&T, holding a variety of roles across all of AT&T businesses including CTO, CEO of AT&T Operations, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions, CIO, President and CEO of AT&T’s Southwest Region, as well as President of Industry Markets. He has led AT&T, one of the world’s largest companies in the technology and telecom industries, as CEO since July 2020.
With Stankey, who has a BBA in Finance from Loyola Marymount University and an MBA from UCLA, at the helm of driving AT&T’s transformation, AT&T has more than 100 million US mobile and broadband customers, including nearly all the Fortune 1000.
CEO Höttges has been Deutsche Telekom AG’s Chairman of the Board of Management since January 2014. Under his leadership, Höttges has seen Deutsche Telekom reorganisation of Service and the establishment of T-Security as an independent cyber security unit. Höttges focused Deutsche Telekom's business model on convergent fixed-network and mobile offerings as well as network-related products such as television and cloud offerings. Höttges is a keen sustainability leader and brought this under his direct responsibility in 2002.
An industry-leading tech and Fortune 50 Chairman and CEO, Vestberg has held Verizon’s top job since August 2018. He is the architect of the company’s ‘one network for all’ 5G strategy and, under his leadership, the company was first in the world to 5G and 5G Mobile Edge Compute. His leadership has seen him pioneer the launch of 5G mobility and home internet, including the introduction of fixed wireless access to customers in the US and the development of global 5G private network solutions for enterprises, governments and other organisations.
Vestberg has transformed Verizon into a customer-centric organisation and has seen large-scale company changes. He previously held a variety of positions at Ericsson, where he worked for more than 25 years. Across his career, he has positioned himself as a leading industry voice in technology and advocate for global digital inclusion and equity.
Under Roberts’ leadership, Comcast has grown into a global company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal and Sky. he has worked for the company since graduating from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His leadership is industry-recognised, with Roberts being the recipient of numerous awards such as World’s Best CEOs by Barron’s and named a Businessperson of the Year by Fortune. He was also bestowed the Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Pennsylvania Society’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement Award.
2. Mike Sievert
Leading the customer-obsessed Un-carrier team, Sievert’s role as CEO has seen him and T-Mobile undertake a vast growth journey. Under his tenure, T-Mobile has experienced unprecedented growth by continuing to tackle customer pain points while introducing Un-carrier to new geographies, segments and product categories. Since joining T-Mobile journey in 2012, Sievert has held a number of executive roles all while championing the simple but powerful Un-carrier formula of valuing customers, putting them first and changing the rules of the industry in their favour.
1. Dong Xin
Dong joined China Mobile’s Board of Directors of the Company in March 2017 and in his role as CEO is in charge of the operation of China Mobile as a whole. Also Director and President of CMCC and CMC, Dong formerly served as a Deputy Director of Corporate Finance Division of the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, as well as as Director of the Economic Adjustment Division for the Department of Economic Adjustment and Communication. A senior engineer and senior accountant with a wealth of experience across the ICT industry, Dong has a Bachelor’s degree from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications as well as a Master’s degree in Finance and Accounting Management from Australian National University, and a Doctoral degree in Business Administration jointly issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and ESC Rennes School of Business in France.
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