People
Thaddeus Arroyo, Chief Information Officer, Cingular Wireless
By Bruce E. Phillips
Jan 13, 2005, 14:38

Thaddeus Arroyo directs Cingular's internal information technology infrastructure, including Internet and Intranet capabilities, development of application systems, oversight of enterprise data centers, and leadership of the IT organization. A former senior vice president for product marketing and development at Sabre Corporation, he has been the main manager of Cingular's technology initiatives while bringing order to the company's enterprise computing and communications applications. He was a driving force behind the technology planning leading up to Cingular's recent acquisition of AT&T Wireless.

Arroyo majored in math at the University of Texas at Arlington and has an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. He won the 2002 "Georgia Global CIO of the Year Award" for his leadership and creativity in planning and deploying enterprise systems at Cingular and, more recently, was named one of this year's "50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business" by this magazine.

When Cingular Wireless announced completion of its acquisition of AT&T Wireless on October 26, it became America's largest wireless network. And Cingular, itself a joint venture between SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corporation, promised to make the merger a seamless transition that would enable customers to use existing phones, rate plans, and features without any service interruptions.

One of the key players in this merger of giants is F. Thaddeus Arroyo, Cingular Wireless' chief information officer. HE&IT recently interviewed him to discuss the technical and managerial challenges required to make this highly complex acquisition a reality.

HE&IT: How is the acquisition working out from a technical standpoint? Have there been any surprises?

Arroyo: It's going very well. There haven't been any surprises, and that's the result of the many months of very careful planning we went through. As just one example of this, on Sunday night [November 14], more than 1,000 AT&T company-owned stores were re-merchandised and rebranded with Cingular products and branding. They went gone from blue to orange overnight. Another 10,500 agent locations will be converted soon.

All systems are now Cingular-activated. Our goal is to ensure a common service experience so that when customers walk into a store they will receive the service they expect. We are confident that we are achieving this goal.

HE&IT: What are some of the technical issues you have faced in making these changes?

Arroyo: The technical component has been critical. As just one example, in network, mobile-to-mobile calling, all customers are part of the same family. This must now include 25 million Cingular and 21 million AT&T customers to create a network of 46 million Cingular customers as one family environment. One of our biggest challenges was to link our networks and enable our 46 million customers to utilize Cingular's M2M features. The most formidable technical challenge, as I said, is the creation of a common service experience for all customers. We had to change all "touch points" -- like online, call centers, retail store, or national distributors -- to ensure that customers are able to get the same products, same features, and same customer experience from each.

HE&IT: What was your role before the acquisition?

Arroyo: I've been involved in preplanning for the merger since March 2004, when it was originally announced. We've been working out initiatives and scenarios, based on public information, to support over 100 projects that would deliver the common service experience we are seeking.
Let me give you just one example: The day after the deal was closed, over 70,000 employees were merged into one e-mail directory. Also, we had to merge our corporate Intranet within 24 hours of closing.

HE&IT: Are you facing any cultural differences between the two companies that need to be worked out?

Arroyo: No, not really. Perhaps that's because we are in the same industry and working in the same competitive space. We are focusing now on bringing together both companies to keep the best teams to make a great company.

The focus is less on the differences and more on the factors that will make us successful. We're highlighting the best practices of both companies. For example, AT&T Wireless had strengths in business markets and how to acquire business, and Cingular has strengths in the consumer space.

HE&IT: Have there been any technical surprises?

Arroyo: No, and again I think this is because of preplanning and because we are in the same space. It's worked out pretty much as we anticipated, and it's working well. By orienting our planning around the customer experience, it has been pretty straightforward.

HE&IT: What advice do you have for other technology executives who may be facing similar challenges?

Arroyo: My first advice is focus on projects that demonstrate real value, and don't spread yourself too thin. Be quick, but don't put schedule ahead of quality.

Also, plan to over-communicate internally, throughout the entire process, especially during the post-close phase. Employees may be easily distracted by continuous changes. Consistent communication will help everybody to focus on the same priorities. Create a standard theme, and repeat it over and over again.

Finally, plan, plan, plan! This allows you to focus on execution after you close. Otherwise, you will miss the opportunity to quickly capture synergies.

First published in Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine November/December 2004