Editor’s Note: Each year, the RCR Wireless News editorial staff chooses the person who has impacted the wireless industry the most during the past 12 months. By successfully closing the acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc., making Cingular Wireless the nation’s largest carrier, as well as beginning much-heralded consolidation among the nation’s largest operators, Stan Sigman is this year’s choice.
Consolidation among the country’s big six wireless operators has been predicted by industry analysts, called for by financial analysts and hinted at by industry executives ever since the Federal Communications Commission rolled back spectrum-cap rules in early 2003. But only one man made the bold decision to close a deal-one that has impacted nearly every corner of the wireless industry during the past year.
That man was Stan Sigman, Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s no-nonsense president and chief executive officer, who decided that Cingular would have to expand its resource base if it wanted to be a true competitor in the ultra-competitive wireless space. That decision led to talks with fledgling rival AT&T Wireless Services Inc., a high-stakes auction, and the recently completed $41 billion acquisition of AWS, which not only bolstered Cingular’s resources, but propelled the carrier past Verizon Wireless as the nation’s largest wireless operator.
In contrast with the relatively high-profile approach Cingular has taken in its purchase of AWS, which has included analyst and media updates, the 57-year-old Sigman has maintained his low-profile management style by deflecting the impact of the acquisition to just doing what was best for Cingular.
“I’m a low-profile person, and this is not about me. This is about Cingular, the marketplace, the 70,000 employees and the shareholders of the company,” Sigman demurred. “I’m just not the type of individual that seeks nor really desires to have the spotlight on me. I’ve always been active in a leadership role within the industry, but I just don’t seek to have my picture and me being spoken about in particular. I would rather show what I can do rather than talk about what I can do.”
Sigman’s desire for action instead of words was echoed by fellow industry executives who note that when Sigman says he will do something, it’s as good as done.
“Stan called me and said, `I want to facilitate the deployment of broadband wireless into rural America,’ ” said Terry Addington, CEO of rural wireless provider First Cellular of Southern Illinois, recalling a conversation about expanding UMTS deployments. “He called me on vacation, told me of his idea and said can I help him with it. I knew right then and there that if I had Stan Sigman’s vision and word, we could run with this, and he has been standing by it.”
Sigman’s straight-talking approach to business can be traced to his rural Texas roots that eventually led him into the telecommunications industry in the mid-1960s with Southwestern Bell Telephone. Sigman’s tenure at Southwestern Bell included management positions throughout the company’s operations in Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri before finally settling into the wireless space in 1986 as executive vice president of Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems.
The full version of this story, including Sigman’s comments on Vodafone’s aggressiveness in its bid for AT&T Wireless and Cingular’s challenges during the merger, is available to paid subscribers at Person of the Year: Stan Sigman.
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