Ed Gillespie, former counselor to President George W. Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee, is joining AT&T as senior EVP, external and legislative affairs.
He replaces Jim Cicconi, who returned to AT&T last fall on an interim basis after retiring in 2018. Cicconi was one-time deputy chief of staff to George H.W. Bush.
Gillespie was most recently chairman of Sard Verbinnen & Co.’s public affairs group. AT&T was a client. In fact, the company pointed out he has a 20-year consulting relationship. AT&T was also a client of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, the consulting firm Gillespie started with Jack Quinn in 2000, and then of Ed Gillespie Strategies, which Gillespie former in 2009.
“Ed will be a tremendous addition to our team with his wealth of public affairs experience and deep understanding of the public policy issues important to our customers, our economy and our company,” said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, to whom Gillespie will report. “I also want to thank Jim Cicconi for returning to lead the team over the past several months. He is one of the best around, a great friend and we all wish him well in retirement.”
