Ralph de la Vega

Ralph de la Vega is the founder and chairman of the De La Vega Group. Mr. de la Vega is the former Vice Chairman of AT&T Inc. and CEO of Business Solutions & International. In that capacity, he had overall responsibility for the company’s integrated Business Solutions group which, at the time served more than 3.5 million business customers in nearly 200 countries and territories, including nearly all of the world’s Fortune 1000 companies. He also had overall responsibility for AT&T’s wireless business operations in Mexico and DIRECTV in Latin America.

Previously, he was President and CEO of AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions, where he had overall responsibility for the company’s wireless and business services operations. Before that, he was President and CEO of AT&T Mobility. Under his leadership, AT&T Mobility became one of the world’s leading smartphone and mobile Internet providers and expanded into new growth areas such as connected cars, and home security and automation.

During his career he has held numerous executive positions, including COO of Cingular Wireless and President of BellSouth Latin America. As the COO of Cingular Wireless, Mr. de la Vega was responsible for the integration of AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless, following the largest all-cash merger in U.S. history at the time. As President of BellSouth Latin America, he was responsible for wireless operations in 11 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Uruguay.

Mr. de la Vega retired from AT&T Dec. 31, 2016.

He serves on the boards of American Express Company, New York Life Insurance Company, and Amdocs Corporation. He is the former Chairman of Junior Achievement Worldwide and continues to serve on its board of directors. He also served as the Chairman of the 2017 Jamboree for the Boy Scouts.

He has received numerous awards recognizing his leadership, including induction into the U.S. Wireless Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Business Hall of Fame, and the prestigious Global Innovation Award from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Mr. de la Vega has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and a master’s degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University. He completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia and received a Doctor Honoris Causa from FAU.

He is the author of the best-selling book Obstacles Welcome: Turn Adversity to Advantage in Business and Life (Thomas Nelson, 2009).

He is a native of Cuba and resides in Florida.