Robert Eugene Allen (January 25, 1935 – September 10, 2016) was an American

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

businessman. He was the president of

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

between 1986 and 1988. He also served as its CEO and chairman from 1988 to 1997. During this period, he incorrectly forecasted the future of the telecom industry and lacked strategic direction; as a result, AT&T suffered severe losses and lost $12 billion in a few months in 1997. 50,000 employees were then laid off. Because of this,

Condé Nast Portfolio Portfolio.com was a website published by American City Business Journals that provideed news and information for small to mid-sized businesses (SMB). It was previously the website for the monthly business magazine ''Condé Nast Portfolio'', pu ...

ranked Allen as the 12th worst American CEO of all time in April 2009.Portfolio.com staff (30 April 2009)
Portfolio's Worst American CEOs of All Time.

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sh ...

Born in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jasp ...

, Allen grew up in

New Castle, Indiana New Castle is a city in Henry County, Indiana, east-northeast of Indianapolis, on the Big Blue River. The city is the county seat of Henry County. New Castle is home to New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gymnasium in the world. ...

. He graduated from

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts c ...

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only char ...

with his bachelor's degree in political science in 1957. While a student at Wabash, he was initiated into the Indiana Beta chapter of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Tria ...

fraternity. He was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

in 1994. From 1990 he served on the board of Pepsico. He also served on the governing board of the Mayo Clinic.Forbes.com
Forbes Bio He served as chairman of

The Business Council The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.The Business Council, Official website, Background

References

External links

* 1935 births 2016 deaths People from Joplin, Missouri People from New Castle, Indiana Wabash College alumni PepsiCo people Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American chairpersons of corporations 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1930s-stub