By Christine Imbs
Monty Python's Eric Idle and David Nichols have a little something in common. They both like to look on the bright side of life.
"I admit it. I'm an optimist," Nichols says. "But there's nothing wrong with looking at the bright side of things. I mean, things are never going to be perfect, so why not look at what's right about a situation. I believe if you're an optimistic person and have a passion for what you do, you can succeed in anything."
Nichols should know. For the past 28 years he's been fortunate enough to not only be doing what he loves, but to be quite successful at it. And now as president of AT&T Missouri, in a way he gets to do it in his own back yard.
"I've spent 11 years living on the west coast, but I'm actually from Wichita, Kan. So I'm very excited to be back in the Midwest, especially in St. Louis," he says. "There are
a lot of great Midwestern cities, but St. Louis is truly amazing."
Nichols joined Southwestern Bell in 1980 after graduating with a degree in Journalism from the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
"I really liked J school, particularly the public relations and advertising piece of it," he says. "But I thought my career path would probably be an MBA. Then, Southwestern Bell offered me a job and I accepted."
While still in Kansas, Nichols worked for the company in community relations, external affairs, and legislative affairs. Then, when the company acquired Pacific Bell, he moved to Reno, Nev. to take over as president of Nevada Bell. Eventually he moved to California, where he held a series of positions, the last being senior vice president-External Affairs at AT&T California in Los Angeles, where he was active civically, including serving as Chairman of the Los Angeles area Chamber of Commerce.
"I worked with a lot of communities in California on permitting issues and governmental issues. I look forward to doing the same in Missouri," he says. "In fact, my first priority is to continue our regulatory reform in Missouri. The industry's being reformed so that the market is the determining factor for services. And that's good for consumers, as well as the State."
Nichols says without a doubt it's an exciting time to be in the telecommunications field.
"The industry's changing at an unbelievable speed," he explains. "Just think about how we connect today. Basically the future is mobility and it's powered by wireless and IP. So weÕre making the shift to mobility. And
I think that's very exciting."
He also feels that way about being in
St. Louis. And why not? St. Louis is a very important piece of AT&T's puzzle. Of the 14,000 people employed by AT&T in Missouri, 9,000 of those are in the St. Louis area.
"And about 6,000 are right here in our building on Chestnut," Nichols adds. "Also, St. Louis is one of the main hubs for AT&T's IT infrastructure. Not many people know that."
Still after spending so much time in sunny California, returning to the Midwest will
definitely be a big change. But Nichols says he believes it's a change for the better.
"We had a good run in California. But my family and I are looking forward to connecting with the people in St. Louis. It's a very caring and very conscientious community," he says. "The more I'm here, the more I like it. And very rarely do you have this many cultural opportunities in a city this livable. It's truly amazing. I think it's going to be a very special time for the Nichols household."
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TalkingPOINTS
ORIGINALLY FROM: Wichita, Kan.
FAMILY: Wife, Nikki, and three children
EDUCATION: BA in journalism from the University of Kansas, Lawrence
FAVORITE BOOK: "The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy" by Joe Matthews
MUSIC: "Jazz, but every once in a while Rock takes over. I guess I'm a Bon Jovi guy."
HOBBIES: "Golf, golf and more golf, although I'm looking forward to teaching myself and my boys to bass fish."
TRAVEL: "We're into exploring, so we're going to try some weekend trips. Silver Dollar City and Branson will be our next adventure." |
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