By Denise Pappalardo
Network World, 12/24/01

Just one year ago, David Dorman became AT&T president, a position most seasoned telecommunications veterans would jump at given the chance. And now it seems he's poised for even more power.

“C. Michael Armstrong has indicated he'd likely retire as CEO in 2002 to become chairman at AT&T Comcast, once that expected merger closes. Most industry watchers consider Dorman next in line for the AT&T CEO job.

But Dorman doesn't pay attention to the whisperings. "With any No. 2 guy at a company, people speculate about his future. Mike's 63, he's my boss. If I do a good job, I get considered. I'm so darn busy with what I've got here, it would be egocentric to think about it," Dorman says modestly.

Still, it's hard to imagine him turning down the position if extended to him. Here's what he has to say about being offered the president slot: "If you grew up in this industry, the opportunity to become president of AT&T is a powerful inducement. I have to say it was one of those jobs that was very appealing to me right from the start."

20 years in the making

As president, Dorman oversees business, consumer, lab and network operations. He's accountable for 75% of the $66 billion in revenue and 163,000 workers.

If Dorman is the next CEO, he'll look at a different set of assets than Armstrong does today. Since October 2000, AT&T has been restructuring by spinning off the wireless, consumer and broadband divisions. The next CEO will likely see the restructuring plans through and operate AT&T Business, the company's vast broadband networks and AT&T Labs.

Dorman says he's up for the challenge, prepared by 20 years in telecommunications. Dorman spent 13 years at Sprint, ultimately becoming president of Sprint Business. In 1994, he left to become CEO at Pacific Bell. He stayed there through the SBC Communications acquisition in November 1997. He then served as executive vice president under CEO Edward Whitacre, but only for four months. He left because his family didn't want to leave California, heady with the tech boom, for SBC's Texas home.

"It would have been like leaving Florence during the Renaissance," Dorman quips.

Instead, he decided to take part in that Renaissance by joining PointCast, of "push" technology fame. His departure from the world of telecom lasted just one frustrating year. "I couldn't use everything I knew. It was hard for me to work hard [at PointCast]," Dorman says. "I went from managing 50,000 employees to 225."

It took little convincing to sign him on as CEO at Concert, the international joint venture that AT&T and British Telecom are in the process of closing down. He spent a year there before Armstrong came calling.

"Telecom is in my blood," says Dorman, noting that he relishes the experiences garnered working for three prominent telecom CEOs — William Esrey of Sprint, Armstrong and Whitacre.

The house that Dave built

But Dorman is his own man, with his own style, says John Polumbo, senior vice president of international ventures and enterprise marketing at AT&T. Polumbo recalls when Dorman hired him nearly 20 years ago at Isacom, which eventually became part of Sprint.

Dorman carried around a copy of his management values, which Polumbo calls "Dave's house." It's a list of leadership principles written in a diagram of a house. The roof of this house says "Focus on customer" on one side and "Games/politics unwelcome" on the other. The body of the house includes four planks: strong intellectual skills, work ethic, teamwork and character/integrity.

He still carries this management guide around, Polumbo says. "Dave would say, 'This is not my house, but the house of all great leaders.' But he lives his life this way, manages this way, lives with his family this way. He has no patience for people who use situational ethics," says Polumbo, adding that Dorman says what he means and expects others to do the same.

Outside passions are wine and golf, after family, Dorman says. And he's a gadget guy. He does 75% of his e-mail on his wireless BlackBerry device, and he's set up 11M bit/sec wireless LANs at his homes in California and Atlanta so he, his three children and his wife can connect to the Internet simultaneously.

He also likes to read in his spare time. He just finished "Final Rounds: A Father, a Son, the Golf Journey of a Lifetime," a book about a father and son who travel the world to play the most famous golf courses after the father learns he's dying. "I almost always read about golf, business or adventure," he says.

Sounds about right for a guy poised to embark on the biggest business adventure of his life.