Women In Technology

Become a Transformational Leader
Speaker:	Ralph de le Vega President and CEO of AT&T Mobility
Date:	Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Time:	7:30am - 9:00am
Location:	Maggiano's Buckhead 3368 Peachtree Rd, Atlanta, GA Map
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Leadership is crucial not only for professional success, but also personal. Join us for our July meeting as Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO of AT&T Mobility, will share his inspirational life story, from his arrival in America from Cuba at the age of 10 without family, friends, or knowledge of English, to becoming the CEO of one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. The ‘Pillars of Success’ that he has developed over time from his personal and professional experiences have empowered him to overcome adversity and turn any challenge into an opportunity.

Ralph de la Vega has been presented with numerous awards for his achievements and community service. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, he was named by the editors of Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology as one of the 50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business. Elected in 2004 Executive of the Year by the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, de la Vega was recognized for his work in supporting diversity in the workplace. He has also been recognized as one of the "100 influential" individuals in 2004 and 2005 by Hispanic Business magazine.

A Cuban immigrant, Mr. de la Vega is committed to serving his community, in particular the young minds of this country. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement Worldwide, where he serves as the chairman of the JA Hispanic Initiative, a program to encourage Hispanic students to remain in school and prepare for success in the U.S. business world. In addition, he serves on the board of directors for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and is a board member for the Georgia chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.

Ralph de la Vega was named to his current role in October 2007. He returns to wireless, where he served as chief operating officer of Cingular Wireless from 2004 to 2006, responsible for technology planning, network operations, marketing, sales and customer care.

Between those two positions, he served as group president of Regional Telecommunications and Entertainment, with responsibility for overall leadership in regional wireline, including consumer, regional business sales and network. He was appointed to that post in January 2007, after the close of the AT&T-BellSouth merger, which consolidated ownership of Cingular.

Before joining Cingular in January 2004, he served as president-BellSouth Latin America, with overall responsibility for BellSouth's operations in 11 countries: Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua, Brazil and Guatemala.

He also has served as BellSouth's president of Broadband and Internet Services. In this position, he had overall responsibility for the deployment, marketing and operations of broadband services. In addition, he had responsibility for BellSouth Internet Services and BellSouth's rapidly growing data support groups.

Mr. de la Vega started his career in 1974 with BellSouth (then Southern Bell) as a management assistant. He has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility in Network Planning, Consumer Services, Engineering and Operations — including a rotational assignment at Telcordia (Bellcore) — and was responsible for all BellSouth Telecommunications Network Operations in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Mr. de la Vega's involvement with the community is extensive. He is a member of the Board of Directors of both Junior Achievement Worldwide and the Boy Scouts of America. He plays a leadership role in helping both organizations recruit Hispanic youth.

A native of Cuba, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University and a master’s degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University, and he has completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia.