AT&T Employees are More than their Titles

From the arts, to volunteering, to just spending personal time with friends and family – our day-to-day is more than just when we clock in and out of work. Often, we have our best ideas after a little bit of time away from the desk. (Shower thoughts, anyone?)

When they’re away from their teams, our people are often exploring their creative passions and finding new ways to get inspired. Check out how their career and hobbies go hand-in-hand.

Network analyst by day. Celebrity dress designer by night.

Legendary, the Max Original on HBO Max, is a bit like its name. If you haven’t watched, you’re missing a fabulous reality competition. It’s a 9-episode series where attendees dance, vogue, walk, pose and support one another in ballroom drag and performance competition categories.

But what’s also legendary for AT&T is Network Force Load Analyst Steven Goudeau, designing a dress worn by one of the judges on episode 6.

“I use what the company taught me a lot about leadership,” Steven said. “As an analyst, I forecast jobs for techs and make sure load is balanced and take care of customers. AT&T taught me process and time management, and I bring that into my personal business.”

When Steven gets home from work he becomes Stephen Goudeau, designing dresses deep into the night.

Growing up, he had a niche for fashion. “My parents always dress well and dressed me well. I critiqued my family and cousins and made dresses for them.”

He made his first wedding dress for a client in 2004 through a referral from his cousin. From there, dress design became a business for him, specializing in custom wedding gowns.

Then in 2013, Stephen was discovered on Instagram and got into celebrity dressing, sharing his passion by designing for the stars. His Fall/Winter 2019 collection included a silver dress that stole the show on episode 6 of Legendary.

“It was wild. To see it on the big screen, the movement, the way she wore it, the way it was tailored. I was very excited.” And so are we, Steven!

Drawing on his past to make it to the future

When Darren James left school more than 30 years ago, he didn’t have a career plan. Art had been a passion during his formative years. That creative side, and a love of music, turned into a proper job as he spent the first 7 years of his working life as a DJ.

Constant late nights began to take their toll, art got brushed aside and in his own words Darren became ‘sensible’. He trained as an accountant and joined AT&T 25 years ago, where he now leads our pricing team in EMEA.

But the love for drawing and painting never went away, and over the past few months he’s dusted down the easel and sketch pad and started to produce new works of art. His posts to social media showcasing his work are getting a fantastic response. And in the current state of our pandemic, he’s finding his rekindled hobby is having multiple benefits.

He’s a self-confessed doodleholic and believes it’s a great way to stay focused when we’re all stuck at home.

“Painting helps me to shut off,” says Darren. “I think having something else to occupy your time and mind when most of the other things we could be doing are not available to us is so important.”

Innovators Thinking Outside the Box