Susan A. Johnson
Executive Vice President, Global Connections & Supply Chain for AT&T
Susan Johnson is the Executive Vice President of Global Connections & Supply Chain for AT&T. In this capacity, she is responsible for AT&T’s international & domestic strategy and partnership development for network connections. She oversees global and national access management, international voice termination, and international roaming support. She also leads Supply Chain functions within AT&T Communications supporting Consumer, Business and Technology & Operations. Her team manages strategic sourcing, purchasing, supplier diversity, sustainability, and supply chain logistics. Jointly, her organization is responsible for a spend portfolio of over $70B that covers all of AT&T’s technology, network and goods & services globally.
Before joining the AT&T family, Ms. Johnson was an investment banker at Smith Barney, Inc. in the San Francisco Technology Group, where she provided a range of financial advisory services to communications and
technology clients. Ms. Johnson directed several growth companies through an initial public offering of stock and served as an advisor on merger and acquisition transactions. Prior to business school, she also worked in Smith Barney’s New York office as an analyst in the LBO/High Yield Debt area.
Susan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and raised on the East Coast. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Northwestern University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from The Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania. Susan received the 2017 Dallas Business Journal top Women in Business Award.
Susan lives in Dallas with her husband, Sean, and two children. She also serves on the board of GSMA, an international association that represents the interests of mobile network operators and carriers globally. She is an active runner and cyclist.
Kanchana Raman
President and CEO, Avion Networks
Kanchana Raman has been an entrepreneur for 25 years and has launched several companies over the years. She founded Avion Systems in 1996 and built an organization with extensive knowledge of the ICT industry. In 2003, she formed ASI in India to service India & EMEA.
In 2014, Kanchana formed Avion Networks, Inc. a JV with Tech Mahindra, the joint venture aims to play a significant role in the final deployment and management of current mobile networks and their planned transformation into the next-generation cloud enabled, virtual and software driven networks.
Kanchana has held several board positions. Telecom Industry Association -TIA, Emory University, TiE-Atlanta, AT&T Women’s forum, Georgia Women’s Business Council. Kanchana holds an MBA from Goizueta Business School, Emory University, Executive training from Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University, and Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth to augment her broad experience in telecommunications and technology, which spans over 25 years. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, daughter Kamini and son Ananth.