AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens has announced his plans to retire next March after 28 years with the company. WarnerMedia CFO Pascal Desroches has been named to succeed Stephens, effective April 1, 2021. During the transition period, Desroches will serve as AT&T’s senior executive vice president – finance.

Stephens began his tenure as CFO in 2011 and helped lead AT&T during a period of tremendous investment in its capabilities to position the company for the years ahead.

“I greatly appreciate John’s outstanding leadership, tireless dedication and many significant contributions to AT&T over the years,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. “His financial expertise and strong commitment to our investors, employees and customers have been invaluable as we invested to become a leader in connectivity and content. He has helped us maintain the financial strength and flexibility needed to create long-term value for shareowners. While he won’t be retiring until next spring, I want to take this opportunity to wish John and his family all our best in the years ahead.”

“Pascal is an impressive financial executive whose strategic thinking and leadership I’ve seen first-hand at WarnerMedia. His deep and broad experience spans media and telecom, as well as corporate finance, public accounting and regulatory compliance,” Stankey said. “I look forward to working closely with him again as we execute on our plans across AT&T to invest in our growth platforms, operate effectively and efficiently, and deliver value to our investors and customers.”

Prior to serving as CFO at WarnerMedia, Desroches was CFO at Turner and global controller at Time Warner Inc. Before he joined Time Warner, Desroches was a partner at KPMG and served as a senior advisor to the chief accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

He holds a B.S. in accounting from St. John’s University and an M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School at Columbia University.