Tom Leppert was about to take the reins of the nation’s ninth-largest city when he cast his gaze toward AT&T in San Antonio. Dallas’ incoming mayor knew SBC Communications’ 2005 purchase of AT&T would mean more travel for whoever was in charge. And he knew that meant Dallas had a chance to snatch the merged company’s headquarters away from the Alamo City.
Both Leppert and AT&T honcho Randall C. Stephenson assumed their current positions in June 2007—Leppert as Dallas’ top elected official, Stephenson as AT&T’s CEO. Not long after being sworn into office, Leppert phoned down to San Antonio to set up an appointment with the company’s new chief executive. The two agreed to meet on Stephenson’s home turf in August.
Leppert had already done one corporate relocation. As CEO of Turner Corp., he’d convinced the board of directors to move Turner’s corporate headquarters from New York to Dallas in 1999.
The mayor says he approached Stephenson as one CEO to another, appealing to Stephenson’s sensibilities as the boss of a far-flung enterprise. “I used to do one-day trips to New York and L.A.—and you’re blessed by having the third-biggest airport in the country” in DFW Airport, he recalls telling Stephenson. He also cited Dallas Love Field and the area’s relatively low cost of living.
It wasn’t the first time AT&T had thought about Big D. Dallas was among four Texas cities in the running to be AT&T’s headquarters when the company left St. Louis in 1992. Back then, it was reported that the telecommunications giant chose San Antonio largely because of AT&T’s business and cultural ties to Mexico. San Antonio is just 129 miles from the Mexican border.
Leppert’s practical advice as a CEO helped lead AT&T farther north in June, when it announced it would relocate its headquarters—and an estimated 700 jobs—to Dallas. “For a CEO, traveling presents a lot of dead time,” says Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “And there’s the cost of travel. I know that’s a big deal for them.”
HIGHS & LOWS
What soared—and what skidded—in DFW business.
The Staubach Co. was bought by Chicago’s Jones Lang LaSalle. Don’t be a stranger, Roger; we still need you taking snaps from center around here.
MillerCoors chose Chicago over Dallas for its U.S. headquarters. Makes sense that a Windy City would land the maker of a watery beer.
Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. announced plans to take its ribs and sausage nationwide. Pass the slaw, y’all!
Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern added a Spanish-language menu. How do you say, “mediocre bar food,” en Español?
Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway launched a crusade to force businesses to remove out-of-code signage. Caraway’s edicts: First, pull up those saggy drawers; now, pull down those ugly signs.
The good news: Plano ranked tops among 69 cities for families hoping to build a nest egg, according to a study by Salary.com. The bad news: You still have to live in Plano.
