Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

Don’t let that nasdaq position fool you

Her dad and Ralph stayed in same community and they she was introduced during country club parties to several folks. Remember there was a drive to hire young women into these positions. There were T-mobile executives and Verizon execs that were preferred but they could not commit to the time requirement to be in BOD. MA as many in this group know had a lot of time at hand.

Not all BOD is rock solid and att itself is an example for that. Nasdaq needed Telcom piece of pie represented and Ralph turned it down along with other leaders.

Unfortunately she doesn’t have a clue about tech industry Let alone Telcom.

Are you asking about the same person who is on the board of NASDAQ? That should answer all of your questions about her next role. She has her pick of whatever she wants it to be.

Who cares where she is or will end up. First town hall I saw her on I knew this broad knew nothing about technology and was just an acronym jockey. We all know how she moved up 3 levels on a year; she did it on 1 or both knees at a time.

Just keeping it real.

It was very obvious from the start that Arnoldi had zero credentials to support the various executive positions she was assigned to. A pretty face with a horrible laugh that could only mimic the acronyms she knew nothing about. In any meeting she held, she was always backed up with resources that could be called upon when a question was asked that went over head and she could not answer, (which was about 99% of them). She made a lot of money posing as an executive and most likely left with her pockets fill with company gold. Bottom line she was a good program manager. She reached a level of executive management well beyond her competence level and all that collapsed on her once her mentor John Donovan left! No one could nor did they want to try and cover up her telecommunications incompetence. But, a pretty face will most likely reappear as an executive at another company that needs so called experience for a position that will not need much technical direction. In closing, no one moves up the ladder as fast as Arnoldi did! So the question is how and why and we will never know!! Stinky is the only one left that can answer that question and my guess is she could not talk finance with him!

"She presents her team and other teams work as her own". Yep, that is the ACN model.

I've been working around different industries for the last 20 years as consultant and management, seen it all. ACN always produced the attractive (both men and women), well dressed, polished, and very bright consultants. They worked hard, and those company employees tasked to support them, worked even harder. Ultimately, the end product will have ACN logos all over, despite the amount of contribution from the employees. While they are bright and fast learners, they simply don't have the domain expertise or insights. They extract the intelligence from employees and package them into "high valued" PPT for executives. There are back office PPT style experts for polishing, all these services are factored into the billable rate or contract terms.

ACN consultants from the most junior to senior partner are constant marketing engines where ever they land, mapping out client organization charts and targeting future contacts as they work the current one. Company executives are eager to hires these experts into management ranks, evolving door and k–ls promotion opportunities for employees. Pretty sure Arnoldi earned a few enemies during her fast raise.

I reported to her both at Accenture and at AT&T. She is a great program manager bar none. At best can hold Director position.

Had absolutely no knowledge of tech. Did not even know the name of top database offerings in IT market.

Her socializing skills with right leaders both at ACN and ATT were phenomenal. She presents her team and other teams work as her own 😀

Getting to Exec Director and then to AVP and then to VP in 1 year at the same time screwing up TMobile and managing just repeated iPhone launch which was well oiled machine is not an accomplishment really.

In my time with her she was willing to do whatever to get the next promotion.

Just great PM made CEO.

She had been searching for job for over an year. It all came out just now.

She will slide to another company beautifully and deliver nothing there as well with her families connection.

from what can gather is that att owns VRIO so she really hasn't left and sounds like she is still Dallas. So it is all still one cozy family and friends.

When their owner shifts house, the pets generally follow behind.

Sadly, some are abandoned and end up at the pound.

Was there an announcement on this?

Wasn't Arnoldi the one that mentioned that the one responsible for the $5 billion transfer to t-mobile should no longer be in the company. At the end Arnoldi used to think more like us, same with Leggs... stay tuned.

Donovan on Linkedin:

He is chair of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC), a board member of Palo Alto Networks and author of "Value-Creating Growth: How to Lift Your Company to the Next Level of Performance", "The Value Enterprise: Strategies for Building a Value-Based Organization" and "Building the Network of the Future: Getting Smarter, Faster, and More Flexible with a Software Centric Approach".

HA HA HA HA HA HA on the book he authored. Each book should have a sub-title "...Or How To Wreck A Company."

I mean, she seemed like a nice enough gal. Just very clearly in over her head. Not her fault really, but I am glad she got canned. Let her get a taste of what thousands of our peers are going through.

never understood how she got in her position. everything she ever said was just repeating talking points. but she is an accountant and has an MBA and she is in charge of technology? that doesn't pass the sniff test lol.

This was foreseeable. MA actually spoke up about the toxic culture of the company right after she came over from Accenture. On a townhall. Bad move. Just like others who questioned the status quo, she was moved into an unwinnable situation at VRIO, and then blamed for its failure. Same is being done to Lori Lee, and same was done to JD. Plenty more examples in the last few years, A.Geisse, De La Vega, etc. Anybody challenging RS and JS was shown the door. Regardless, removing the messenger did not resolve the reason for the message. Doesn't take an MBA to figure that out. C-suite just can't handle the truth.

micro services micro services micro services micro services micro services

Donovan was a freaking mo–n, give me a break.

Donovan/Arnoldi = Easterbrook

Donovan has been appointed to the board of directors of another company—it was in the news recently, so he is not retired.

Just like a new, expensive car, the newness wears off surprisingly quick. JD probably just traded her for another one , that with years in age difference.

Does Donovan have a new position at another firm yet or do you think he is permanently retired? Does anyone know if JS canned her?

Why would you concern yourself about her, she's an elitists, and member of the family and friends clan and is protected, unlike any of us. You should be plenty worried about yourself and your departments survivor-ship and try to not get laid off. Who cares if she was Donovans pet, Donavon was awesome, she helped him.

She is a survivor of the War.

Nothing to see here... Move along...

I recall back in the days of Classic-T, a new CFO was appointed. He immediately brought in the 20'ish YO hottie VP. The newbie hottie VP made the rounds around the country to meet her new kingdom. She came and did her little pep talk. Not impressed. Reminded me of the girl now on the current T commericals. The newbie VP then immediately ousted my 4th level and replaced him with a outsider hottie.

Come to find out, the hottie 4th level was the VP's secretary from her old job! Nice to be able to go from a secretary to a 4th level!

The VP then proceeded to wack hundreds of my colleagues. Turns out she was just brought in to be a hatchet.

As soon as the newbie hottie VP was done with those wacking, she pulled her golden parachute and moved on to ruin her next organization. But she made sure she left her secretary 4th level in-charge. Nice work if you can get it!

Good old T!

Plenty of executives that have no experience or credentials to support their titles around here. Like how do you make VP at 30 with no experience and no prestige MBA to go with it? Same with some directors. Only credentials they had was they are pretty and a woman. Tons of guys at ATT with the experience, degrees, and street credibility to climb; yet they are stuck at level 2. Never even get looked at. Heck even the g– guys stopped climbing the ladder quickly.

It's amazing that so many upper management at this company spend a year or so in a job and then get promoted to their next "challenge." It's a brilliant strategy really. Don't stay long enough in a job for anyone to figure out that you shouldn't have had it in the first place.

This is the quality of executive grooming within the company, inbreed incompetency, and false pretense in embracing diversity. For those with half ounce of ethnics, they would not take a promotion where they know they are not ready for and will lead to failure. Not this this company, full of big egos and experts of everything, but can't produce nothing.

Best of luck to Arnoldi in finding a job, now she will know what a k–ler experience at T is worth for other employers.

Well said

once Donovan got the boot his little pet, who was just a director a year or so before becoming an ATO president is done. look for this one to go back to director or manager level. what a joke. this is why at&t performs so miserably