Jan Collier: AT&T Corporate Leadership Reflects Diverse Workforce, Customer Base

Jan Collier

Jan Collier is the Vice President and General Manager for Arkansas/Oklahoma, AT&T Mobility. She oversees the sales and operations for more than 1,100 employees, 60 AT&T-owned and operated retail locations and more than 340 national retail partners and authorized dealers across Arkansas and Oklahoma. She was named to the 2014 Arkansas Business Power List in the Technology & Telecom field and also to Little Rock Soiree’s 2015 Women to Watch list.

Collier earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. She is a member of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock College of Business Advisory Board and serves on the board of Junior Achievement of Arkansas. Her daughter works for AT&T in the Dallas area, and her son plays football at Texas Tech University.

Rolling into a “phone store” is not the same as it used to be. How are new stores taking the customer experience to the next level?

Our new stores are focused on how technology supports people’s mobile lifestyle. The new store design replaces traditional signage with video boards. More than 90 percent of store transactions are conducted via tablet. And we’ve eliminated counters and cash registers, breaking down the barrier between customers and sales consultants. Most important, we’re focused on the customer experience.

Yours has been a steady rise up the executive ladder since you joined AT&T in wireless sales in 1990. As a female executive, did you encounter any special obstacles?

As leaders at AT&T, we are all focused on building and developing diverse talent in our organizations. I had the same benefit from my leaders as I was coming up through the ranks. While not an obstacle, one of our family’s biggest decisions was to be mobile and follow my career anywhere in the country. This expansive experience was key for my professional growth and offered my entire family great experiences across several states, making many friends along the way.

In what ways is the corporate world today more open to female executives?

At its core, my company is structured to develop a strong pipeline of diverse leaders. AT&T is focused on ensuring that we have a culture that attracts, develops and retains talented women. Our customers, suppliers and investors are diverse. So we serve them best when our workforce is diverse and when a focus on diversity and inclusion is embedded in all of our business practices. Having the best talent at the table — both men and women — is critical to our success and growth.

Prior to your current position, you were VP for AT&T Global HR. In this golden age of tech startups, was it hard to recruit to big corporations like AT&T?

The competition for top talent is fierce and our talent acquisition team works hard to attract talented candidates. Our college recruiting program is top notch. One of the biggest challenges today is there are more technical jobs than candidates, so AT&T also supports many STEM initiatives to build that pipeline.

What’s the next big thing in mobile technology?

Connectivity is king. Fast, highly secure and mobile connectivity is the engine powering our economy. It’s creating a better, more sustainable world, from connected cars and homes and smarter, more resilient energy grids to tools that help cities manage traffic to reduce pollution. The Internet of Things is one of the fastest-growing technology trends where all types of devices and machines are connected and “talk” to one another. New experiences like virtual reality, self-driving cars, robotics and smart cities are about to test networks like never before.