AT&T taps company veteran as chief operating officer

(Reuters) – AT&T Inc on Friday named Jeff McElfresh, who headed its largest business unit, as chief operating officer, part of the U.S. carrier’s efforts to refocus on its connectivity business following the merger of its WarnerMedia unit with Discovery Inc.

McElfresh has been with the company for more than 20 years and was most recently the head of AT&T Communications.

The COO role has been vacant since John Stankey became the chief executive officer in July 2020.

The Dallas, Texas-based firm on Thursday posted a 2.5% rise in revenue for its core phone and internet business in the first quarter, as the telecom giant benefited from the expansion of its fiber internet and 5G services.

(This story corrects paragraph 2 to say McElfresh was most recently CEO of AT&T Communications)

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)