LEO Hindery wasn’t long for AT&T.
It didn’t take the scrappy deal-maker long to figure out that the staid and bureaucratic world of the nation’s biggest phone company wasn’t for him.
He had little patience for AT&T’s pace and style, and it became clear pretty quickly he wasn’t going to succeed AT&T boss C. Michael Armstrong.
He also hardly needed the job. He’s now worth some $350 million since orchestrating the sale of Tele-Communications Inc. to AT&T.
The moment Hindery landed at AT&T, he found himself in a firefight with Armstrong’s No. 2, John Zeglis. Hindery won that battle, establishing himself as Armstrong’s top deputy, while taking over AT&T’s cable and Internet operations.
More recently, he has been in an intramural battle over whether AT&T’s Internet business should focus on distribution, or own content, as well. Hindery favors opening the cable system to all Internet providers – a stance that puts him at odds with some of AT&T’s partners in high-speed Internet access company @Home.
But victories or not, Hindery’s not a phone guy at heart. In his spare time, Hindery races stock cars – and while AT&T is changing, it’s still not the ideal place for a guy with a need for speed.
Hindery, the cable industry’s leading exec for the last three years, does deals and turns companies around. He built his own cable company, InterMedia Partners, from scratch, then pulled off a dramatic turnaround at TCI.
He did deal after deal, remaking TCI while boosting the cable industry as a whole. He fostered an era of cooperation between cable operators, while keeping them dominant in the convergence of TV and the Internet. He even helped keep control of the next generation of TV set-top boxes out of the hungry hands of Bill Gates.
Hindery eventually got TCI in good enough shape for Armstrong to buy, making cable the cornerstone of AT&T’s local phone strategy.
Since arriving at AT&T, Hindery has earned his keep.
He helped Armstrong break up Comcast’s deal to acquire MediaOne, making a rare hostile bid that had the potential of fracturing the unified cable industry. By virtue of his strong relations across the industry, Hindery was able to smooth things over, agreeing to sell some of the acquired systems to Comcast. He also assuaged Microsoft, which had threatened to bid for MediaOne itself, by agreeing to allow Gates to provide the operating systems for more set-top boxes.
But the deal-making at AT&T is largely done. The company expects to close its deal to acquire MediaOne early next year.
That means Hindery can ride off into the sunset.
If he stayed, Hindery would have the dubious privilege of helping Ma Bell do battle with the other long-distance giants and the powerful Baby Bells.
It’s an important fight, and will reshape the telecommunications industry for years to come. But it’s not for Hindery.
He’s looking for the next deal, and he’ll get plenty of opportunities.
He’s beloved on Wall Street, and companies are falling over themselves to hire him.