Connecting the neighborhood

by Matt Jardin | May 12, 2020

In October 2019, natural sciences alumnus Bill Bishop was named president and CEO of Alaska Communications. Despite his new title, Bishop’s priorities remain consistent over his 14 years serving in various leadership positions for the organization.

“There are two constituents that have my main focus: our employees — we have about 600 employees in the state — and our thousands of customers. So my personal stamp will be within those two constituencies,” said Bishop. “I want our folks happy when they come to work and happy when they leave, and I want a level of trust to be heightened when it comes to our customers and the experience they have with Alaska Communications.”

Originally from Texas, Bishop’s appreciation for Alaska’s interconnectedness developed while growing up in North Pole. In high school, he played football which allowed him the opportunity to travel to different communities and villages around the state. That appreciation was reinforced when he spent a year attending the University of North Texas.

“I was one of those kids who wanted to leave Alaska and never come back,” said Bishop. “I left right after my freshman year at UAF, went and played football in college in Texas and realized Alaska wasn’t so bad. At that point, I knew that Alaska would be home.”

Even though Bishop returned to Alaska, he relocated to Anchorage to see even more of the state. The next step was continuing his education at UAA where he majored in natural sciences as he originally planned on becoming a doctor. Although his eventual career is a departure from his degree, Bishop credits his time at UAA for granting him the skills invaluable to leading a company like Alaska Communications.

“The quality of education I got at UAA was tremendous, but from a degree point of view, there’s little overlap,” said Bishop. “But there were a lot of experiences I learned during my time at UAA that have carried me through what I think has been a successful career. Most of those experiences were around how to treat people.”

Bishop’s transition from natural sciences grad to telecommunications executive seemingly happened overnight. After his time at UAA, he reconnected with a friend from Fairbanks working for McCaw Cellular Communications — which eventually became AT&T — who helped him secure a job in the company. The position not only set Bishop on the path toward management through a leadership training program, but also by helping him discover his true passion: using technology to connect people.

Between his start at AT&T and his rise at Alaska Communications, Bishop also connects with people and the community through volunteering. In the past, he’s served on boards for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska and the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, and he currently sits on the boards for Alaska Business Week, Special Olympics Alaska and the national board for USTelecom.

“It is important for all of us to do whatever we can to give back to the community, whether it’s financially, but more importantly our time,” said Bishop. “One, it’s rewarding. But two, I don’t think of it as a civic responsibility. I think of it as a way to give back some of the gifts that I’ve been given both to this community, our friendships and this great state where we live. It’s important we all do this, it keeps that train moving.”

Evidenced by his priorities throughout his long career in telecom, if there’s one thing Bishop wants to emphasize, it’s the importance of community.

“I want people to understand how important being local is, not from just a business point of view, but a community point of view,” said Bishop. “Alaska is a small state, and our employees and customers are our friends and neighbors. Frankly, that’s one thing I love about our state.”