“Sol is a digital pioneer, an early champion of mobile, the smartphone and the Internet-enabled innovation economy.”
– Steven Wolfe Pereira,
Chief Executive Officer, Encantos
“Across his career, he’s headed up major telecommunications companies in the U.S. and around the world. Now Trujillo is focused on helping advocate for other members of the Latino community….”
– Steve Forbes, Chairman &
Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media
S ol Trujillo is a globally recognized leader and trusted advisor. He has served as CEO of three large-market cap companies on three different continents traded in the NYSE, CAC, FOOTSIE, and ASX. Earning the respect of business leaders worldwide, he also held the prominent position of trade policy advisor under two U.S. Presidents.
But some wonder how a young Wyomingite—a trumpeter playing in a Mariachi band in his father’s restaurant—emerged as a global leader.
For Sol, it’s no mystery at all.
He’s always believed in possibility, not position. Some thought his roots would limit his opportunities. They pointed to reasons why he’d never leave his small town in The Cowboy State.
Instead, Sol knew that his roots could multiply his opportunities. While some wrote him off, Sol went to work.
In every company Sol has managed during his career, he’s believed in the diversity of people: their opinions, their values, and their perspectives. When put to work, they’ve always led to stronger ideas, better creative solutions, more on-target strategies, and frankly—a more enjoyable working environment.
Sol´s experiences have formed a deep expertise in merging technical talent with unrivaled passion, often from backgrounds and positions overlooked by traditional leadership.
His unparalleled exposure to global markets and his unique perspective earned him trade policy advisor roles in the Clinton and Bush Presidential administrations. He remains active in public policy issues, including immigration, trade, and fiscal affairs.
Now, Sol dedicates his time, energy, and expertise towards initiatives focused on paving the way forward for a sustainable and abundant economic future for America. He is the co-founder of L’ATTITUDE, a national New Mainstream Economy business event and national policy discussion platform.
Boards Served
Management In Action
Telstra
Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications carrier and a world-class, fully integrated, full-service provider across wireline (copper, fiber, coaxial cable, and HFC), satellite, and digital wireless networks and platforms. Telstra has more than 10 million household, business, and wholesale customers and is also Australia’s leading Internet service provider through its ISP called Big Pond.
Big Pond was a marketplace winner because it had more of nearly everything – broadband, business software, games, movies, you name it. In short, Telstra has the most highly-accessed family of Internet portals and sites, providing entertainment and multimedia content over its broadband network – including the world’s largest, fastest, and most advanced mobile Internet – and through its pay-tv joint venture, Foxtel.
Telstra owns and operates one of the most technologically advanced networks, offering end-to-end solutions ranging from broadband, IP, mobile, and intelligent network services, to voice and data network hubs, call centers, and advanced multimedia and e-commerce applications. It has business operations in the Asia-Pacific region, North America, the UK, and Europe.
Key achievements under Sol’s leadership:
- Privatized a previously government-owned telecommunications utility.
- Built an integrated media-communications company with CATV, Internet, directories, phone, and satellite.
- Built the world’s largest, fastest, most advanced mobile Internet – a high-speed wireless 3G network.
- Achieved highest user and revenue growth in the industry.
- Grew average revenue per user (ARPU) by approximately 15 percent and data ARPU by more than 200 percent.
- Created Hong Kong’s largest mobile business.
- Changed the company’s focus from products to the customer experience.
Orange
Orange is the world’s fifth largest telecom operator. Sol joined the Board of the multinational wireless giant when it had 50 million customers in 19 countries throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Two years later, at the request of France Telecom, a major Orange shareholder, Sol moved to the CEO position to prepare the company for acquisition, becoming the first American to lead a CAC-40 company. Orange is now the unique commercial brand for most France Telecom services.
Key achievements under Sol’s leadership:
- Increased data revenues by more than 30 percent per year.
- Launched operations in two additional countries, achieving 26 percent growth in revenues outside France and the UK.
- Grew wireless subscriber base by 13 percent, revenue by 12 percent, and EBITDA by 32 percent.
- Reduced costs by $1.5 billion in two years.
- Was the first company to introduce smartphones.
Graviton
Graviton, Inc. was a high-tech, privately held, development-stage company located in La Jolla, California. Graviton was a pioneer in the emerging “sensornetics” industry – producing small, aspirin-sized sensors to expand the capacity of the public and private sectors to manage buildings, infrastructure, and other elements of the engineered world. Graviton developed sensor technology to keep managers informed, used wireless communications to provide operations data and real-time connections, and provided managed information services to keep managers in control. Graviton’s integrated solutions were designed to expand the “common sense” of managers and decision-makers at every level by generating, transmitting, and managing new data to provide more accurate, timely, and actionable intelligence to better inform everyday decision-making. In 2003, Graviton merged with Xsilogy, a provider of wireless sensor network technologies and applications.
US West
US West was the Denver-based telecommunications giant, one of the so-called Baby Bells that resulted from the break-up of AT&T in 1983. With 59,000 employees, US West provided a full range of telecommunications and Internet services – including wireline, wireless PCS, data networking, directory, and information services – to more than 25 million customers nationally and in 14 Western states. Prior to its merger with Qwest in 2001, US West was an industry leader in the Internet era – including high-speed broadband where it provided 40 percent of the nation’s high-speed digital subscriber lines (DSL) with a service area that accounts for just 10 percent of the U.S. population.
Key achievements under Sol’s leadership:
- Transformed local phone business into modern telecommunications company.
- Grew revenue and EBITDA 9 percent annually.
- Became the first company to offer residential and business DSL services and “plug and play” DSL.
- Launched more than 40 new products and services.
- Enabled first integrated service with a one-number voicemail box for mobile, home, and office phones.
- Was the first company to deliver digital video over copper.
- Doubled performance of US West compared to S&P Telco.
- Delivered a 50 percent premium to US West shareholders through the merger with Qwest.
