Solomon Trujillo
Encyclopedia
Solomon Dennis "Sol" Trujillo (born November 17, 1951) is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer
of Telstra
, Australia
's largest telecommunication
s company. He was born in Cheyenne
, Wyoming
, to Mexican immigrants.
degree (BBus) and an MBA
from the University of Wyoming
.
He began his business career in 1975 as a business forecaster for Mountain Bell. He worked as President, chairman and CEO of US WEST Communications, Inc.
from 1995 to 2000. In November 2000, he became chairman and CEO of Graviton, remaining until that startup closed. In 2003, he became CEO of Orange SA
, a company on which he had been a board member since 2001. He held that position until March 2004. He was appointed Telstra
's chief executive officer on July 1, 2005.
During the period of Trujillo's tenure, Telstra's share price underperformed the market by around twenty percent, losing over $25 billion in value while customer complaints rose 300 percent. Major factors in the company's share price decline were the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 and being disqualified for submitting a non-compliant bid to the National Broadband Network
tender issued by the Rudd Government
.
On February 25, 2009, Trujillo announced he would stand down as Telstra's CEO on June 30, and return to the United States with his family.
On May 19, 2009, Trujillo left Telstra
and shortly after returned to the US. He was replaced as CEO by David Thodey
.
interview describing Australia as racist, backward and like "stepping back in time". During his time in Australia, media commentators and cartoonists repeatedly made reference to Trujillo's Hispanic
background including caricatures of him as a "bandido". The group of American executives who were recruited to work at Telstra were referred to, along with Trujillo, as the "three amigos". In the BBC interview, Trujillo cited Australia's "very restrictive" immigration policies and rigid rules on company privatisation as his evidence for the nation being backward and racist. When Trujillo's resignation from Telstra was announced, Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
gave an "Adios" response. Trujillo described Mr Rudd's use of the term as "racism personified". Trujillo's views on racism in Australia
were repudiated by several businessmen and political leaders.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's largest telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s company. He was born in Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, to Mexican immigrants.
Career
Trujillo has a Bachelor of BusinessBachelor of Business
A Bachelor of Business is a three or four year business degree offered by traditional and newer universities from the post-Dawkins era in Australia and New Zealand...
degree (BBus) and an MBA
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
from the University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
.
He began his business career in 1975 as a business forecaster for Mountain Bell. He worked as President, chairman and CEO of US WEST Communications, Inc.
US West
U S WEST, Inc. was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies , created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement , a case related to the antitrust breakup of AT&T...
from 1995 to 2000. In November 2000, he became chairman and CEO of Graviton, remaining until that startup closed. In 2003, he became CEO of Orange SA
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
, a company on which he had been a board member since 2001. He held that position until March 2004. He was appointed Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
's chief executive officer on July 1, 2005.
During the period of Trujillo's tenure, Telstra's share price underperformed the market by around twenty percent, losing over $25 billion in value while customer complaints rose 300 percent. Major factors in the company's share price decline were the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 and being disqualified for submitting a non-compliant bid to the National Broadband Network
National Broadband Network
The National Broadband Network is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Up to one gigabit per second connections are sold to retail service providers , who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers...
tender issued by the Rudd Government
Rudd Government
The Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 2007 to 2010, led by Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister. The Rudd Government commenced on 3 December 2007, when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry...
.
On February 25, 2009, Trujillo announced he would stand down as Telstra's CEO on June 30, and return to the United States with his family.
On May 19, 2009, Trujillo left Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
and shortly after returned to the US. He was replaced as CEO by David Thodey
David Thodey
David Thodey is an Australian businessman who is the current Chief Executive Officer of Telstra after the departure of Solomon Trujillo. He was born in Perth, Western Australia.-Career:...
.
Views on Australia
After Trujillo left Telstra and Australia, he was quoted in an BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
interview describing Australia as racist, backward and like "stepping back in time". During his time in Australia, media commentators and cartoonists repeatedly made reference to Trujillo's Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
background including caricatures of him as a "bandido". The group of American executives who were recruited to work at Telstra were referred to, along with Trujillo, as the "three amigos". In the BBC interview, Trujillo cited Australia's "very restrictive" immigration policies and rigid rules on company privatisation as his evidence for the nation being backward and racist. When Trujillo's resignation from Telstra was announced, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
gave an "Adios" response. Trujillo described Mr Rudd's use of the term as "racism personified". Trujillo's views on racism in Australia
Racism in Australia
Racism in Australia has been documented since the arrival of Europeans in 1788. As the diversity of cultural and racial backgrounds within Australia increased, racism has remained an important local issue.-Indigenous Australians:...
were repudiated by several businessmen and political leaders.
Australia's views on Sol Trujillo
Trujillo's comments that Australia was "backward" and "racist" generated anger and an overwhelming negative view of Trujillo across Australia. The day after Trujillo made his comments about Australia to the BBC, many Australians took to online news sites, television news programs and talk-back radio to voice their opinions, with many stating Trujillo had wrecked the value and brand of Telstra during his time as CEO of the company.External links
- Telstra biography
- Orange SA biography
- Future in Review biography
- Telstra's new boss article from Dissent magazine, Aug 2005
- Sol Trujillo on the Line SBS Dateline, 20 Sep 2006