AT&T CFO (T) Pascal Desroches has been named by Yahoo Finance as one of 21 people who will leave an indelible mark on 2021. As part of the ongoing series 'The Next: 21 to watch in 2021', Yahoo Finance's Julia La Roche talks to Desroches about his priorities for the company, HBO Max's place in the streaming wars, the future of movie releases, and his own American Dream story as a Haitian immigrant.

Video Transcript

PASCAL DESROCHES: My name is Pascal Desroches. I'm the CFO of AT&T. For 2021, my main goal is to position our businesses to continue to succeed.

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JULIA LA ROCHE: Pascal, you are the CFO of AT&T. It is the largest telecom company in the world. And after its purchase of Warner Media, it's also one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the world. And the role of the CFO, it certainly seems like it's gone through a lot of change over the years. How would you describe it?

PASCAL DESROCHES: Julia, I view my role as ultimately working with our CEO to allocate capital across our businesses-- in particular, to find capital for our areas of focus, including 5G, fiber, and HBO Max. Also, we are committed to sustaining our dividend. So part of my effort is to make sure we are generating sufficient cash to ensure that we're able to sustain our dividend, pay down debt, and also operate our businesses in a very efficient way. So those are my areas of focus going into the new role.

JULIA LA ROCHE: AT&T is betting hard on HBO Max. The world of streaming, it does have a lot of players. It seems like it's getting a bit crowded. What do you think will give HBO Max that edge that it needs?

PASCAL DESROCHES: HBO Max-- I'll tell you, when you think about HBO and you think about Warner Media in general, we have a long history of being the creators of compelling content. Any great streaming service, the foundation of that is great content-- so one. Two, I would point to we've only launched right now in the US, and we are the second-highest revenue generator in the US in terms of streaming revenues. Only Netflix has more streaming revenues in the US than we do.

We've added 11 million subscribers in the last year. And we are really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead as we launch internationally and we launch our Avon product. And so when I look at just what's ahead of us, there's no doubt in my mind that we will be one of the three or four SVOD services that consumers will always want to have as part of their overall viewing experience.

JULIA LA ROCHE: One of the other big themes we've seen is because the theaters have been closed, we're seeing the new releases on the streaming services. How do you see that strategy playing out in the long-term? Is that something you think will continue to remain as the vaccines roll out and places start to reopen?

PASCAL DESROCHES: I think what you will find is there will be some movies that are released exclusively theatrically for a period of time. In fact, we announced that we planned to do that next year for some of our movies. I believe there will be other movies that release exclusively to streaming and never see the theaters. And there will be movies that release simultaneously in the theaters and on a streaming platform.

So I think you're going to see a variety of different models. Ultimately, this is going to come down to what is it that the consumer is looking for? What is it that they are-- what way do they want to consume this content? And we're going to ultimately-- we and our competitors are going to have to follow consumer demand.

JULIA LA ROCHE: I want to shift to leadership for a little bit. I'd like to also talk about your personal story for the viewers who are watching. Can you share with us your personal story in coming to America and growing up here? And I think that would be really helpful for our viewers to understand your own background and your own experiences.

PASCAL DESROCHES: Look, I am a Haitian immigrant. I was born in Haiti. My parents immigrated here when I was five years old. I was one of four children. When my parents immigrated here, they were in their late-30s, didn't know the language, had to learn the language, secure jobs, and they did it while educating four young children.

And my mom was a nurse. And oftentimes, she would do two shifts. And my dad also often had more than one job. When I look back at their experience and what they've done, no matter what I achieve, it will pale in comparison to the courage and resolve they had in coming to this country at a time of great uncertainty for them personally. They made the sacrifice in order to put us in a better position. So I often say, there's no such thing as a bad day, whenever I think about that.

JULIA LA ROCHE: You are a leader in corporate America. I'm sure a lot of people look to you, they look up to you. If you could have-- say something to that young Pascal coming to America or, you know, the young Pascal out there today, what would you say to that person?

PASCAL DESROCHES: Here's what I would say-- we often talk about the issues-- the areas where we as a country need to get better. And there are lots of them. But my story is only possible in this country. And what I would tell somebody coming up is if you believe in yourself, and you have resolve, and you come in every day and try to get better, there are enormous possibilities, especially in this country.

JULIA LA ROCHE: To that point, it sounds like there's a lot of potential out there. What is it that excites you about the opportunity? And what is kind of your moonshot? What is the impact that you would like to have.

PASCAL DESROCHES: I think we need to-- I need to, along with my peers, need to leave the company in a better stead than where we found it. Ultimately, we are stewards. We inherited a great company, and we need to leave a better company for the next generation. And a great company for me would look like this-- we are the best communication company and entertainment company in the world. That is success and one that is known for innovation, one that is known for ethical behavior, operating with integrity-- and that's the goal. And we're committed to it.

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