John Stankey has been elected board chair of Dallas-based communications technology giant AT&T, succeeding William E. Kennard, who was elected lead independent director.

Bill Kennard, lead independent director of AT&T

Stankey has been AT&T’s president and CEO since 2020.

“As AT&T embarks on its comprehensive, board-approved three-year strategic and capital allocation plan, this change provides the right governance structure for the board,” Kennard said in a statement. “This will increase our governance agility and enhance our ability to seize opportunities to create long-term shareholder value while maintaining robust independent leadership of the Board.”

Follows news of $850M real estate deal

The leadership news comes shortly after AT&T announced in January that it secured $850 million from its sale-leaseback of 74 underused central office facilities to Oklahoma City-based Reign Capital.

“The uniquely structured deal unlocks value in otherwise stranded commercial real estate space,” Michael Ford, head of global real estate at AT&T, said at that time. “It’s a creative solution providing both upfront and long-term value through a revenue sharing model that fits with our broader company and transformation initiatives.”

The offices house AT&T’s legacy copper networks and are located across the country. AT&T said the transaction monetizes properties with development potential, reduces operating expenses, and provides revenue sharing.

AT&T said the deal’s structure preserves the infrastructure requirements necessary to keep the network running smoothly, plus participation in future revenue generated from redevelopment.

$7.6B DirecTV deal announced in September

Also, in September, global alternative asset management firm TPG said it would acquire from AT&T the remaining 70% stake in DirecTV that it didn’t already own in a deal valued at $7.6 billion. TPG said it would invest in DirecTV via TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European private equity platform.

TPG, headquartered in Fort Worth and San Francisco, called the acquisition part of a game-changing multi-step deal that will see DirecTV merge with Dish Network into America’s biggest pay-TV provider.

AT&T said that the DirecTV sale will allow it to “continue to focus on being the leading wireless 5G and fiber connectivity company in America” and that the deal “continues to strengthen AT&T’s balance sheet by pulling forward cash expected over the next several years.”

The DirecTV deal is another in a series of big media deals by AT&T in recent years.

In 2017, AT&T closed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, ending a protracted battle with the Justice Department under President Donald Trump, which sought to block the deal.

AT&T then announced in 2021 it was spinning off its media assets from that deal to combine with Discovery to create a content giant. AT&T received $43 billion in cash, debt and WarnerMedia’s retention of some debt.

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