John Donovan, the CEO of AT&T Communications, had announced today that he plans to retire with effect from October 1, 2019. 

Donovan, for the past two years, has led AT&T’s largest business unit, which provides services to 100 million mobile, broadband and pay-TV customers in the U.S.

Along with catering to millions of business customers, including nearly all the Fortune 1000.

A Host of Changes At AT&T 

The news comes with several big changes in that business unit and more in the wider telecom industry.

To begin with, AT&T had just recently redesigned its over-the-top streaming service DIRECTV NOW to AT&T TV NOW.

They had also just rolled out a brand-new TV service, AT&T TV, in 10 test markets last week.

The new AT&T TV is a more traditional still though “over-the-top” option can work with any broadband connection.

DIRECTV NOW also known as AT&T TV NOW is meant to compete with other over-the-top streaming services like Dish’s Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and others.

It looks like AT&T is due to merge these efforts at some point, and perhaps Donovan’s withdrawal could signal some changes on that front. 

In addition to its other streaming ambitions, AT&T will also be  starting to roll out 5G, a move Donovan had led. 

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Donovan’s Journey At AT&T

Donovan has been the CEO of AT&T Communications for the past two years now, after having joined the company as CTO in 2008. 

Before starting his CEO role in July 2017, he had also been promoted to AT&T’s chief strategy officer and group president at AT&T Technology and Operations.

He had initially worked with companies like Verisign, Deloitte Consulting and InCode Telecom Group.

The WSJ also said, Donovan, aged 58, was nearing the company’s retirement age of 60, but his departure was still unexpected.

John Donovan, said in a statement, that it has been his honour to lead AT&T Communications during a period of unprecedented innovation.

And also investing in this new technology that is revolutionizing on the way people connect with their worlds. 

He says, all that he has accomplished is credited to the talented women and men of AT&T, and their passion for serving our customers. 

He also mentioned that he is looking forward to the future, spending time with his family and watching proudly as the AT&T team continues to set the pace for the industry. 

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