Former AT&T chief Edward Whitacre, Jr. named chairman of New GM
A new General Motors needs new leadership. So following the replacement of former CEO Rick Wagoner with Fritz Henderson, the General has announced its new incoming chairman: Edward E. Whitacre, Jr.Whitacre is perhaps best known for his seventeen-year tenure as chairman and chief executive of AT&T, overseeing mergers and expansions that made AT&T the largest telecom company in America. He holds a degree in industrial engineering from Texas Tech, and also serves on the boards of ExxonMobil and BNSF Railway.
Whitacre will take over from interim chairman Kent Kresa once the bankruptcy proceedings wrap up and New GM is launched, at which point several of the current board members will remain, six will depart and a new crop of directors will join the board over which Whitacre will preside. Details in the press release after the jump.
[Source: General Motors | Image: Mark Wilson/Getty]
PRESS RELEASE
Edward Whitacre, Jr. to Become Chairman of New GM
Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., former chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc., will become chairman of the New GM when the company is launched later this summer, GM's interim Chairman Kent Kresa announced today. Kresa will continue to serve as interim chairman until the launch.
Whitacre and Kresa, along with current board members Philip A. Laskawy, Kathryn V. Marinello, Erroll B. Davis, Jr., E. Neville Isdell and President and Chief Executive Officer Frederick A. Henderson, will serve as the nucleus of the New GM board, providing management oversight and a continuing commitment to transparency and world-class standards of corporate governance.
The six other members of the current board will most likely retire no later than the approval of the sale of GM assets to the new entity. A selection process is currently underway for four more directors to serve on the board of the New GM. In addition, the Canadian government and the new UAW Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) will each nominate one director, bringing the total number of New GM directors to 13.
Whitacre, 67, was chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc. and its predecessor companies from 1990 to 2007. During his tenure, which began with Southwestern Bell, Whitacre led the company through a series of mergers and acquisitions--including that of AT&T in 2005--to create the nation's largest provider of local, long distance and wireless services. He serves on the boards of ExxonMobil Corporation and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation and holds a degree in industrial engineering from Texas Technological University.
"The appointment of Ed Whitacre as chairman represents a very auspicious beginning for the New GM," said Kresa. "We look forward to working with him to complete the reinvention of GM and maximize the enormous potential of this new enterprise."
"I am honored to be able to serve GM at this critical juncture and take part in its reinvention," said Whitacre.
General Motors Corp., one of the world's largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the U.S., followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Rocketboy 1:03PM (6/09/2009)
Oh, this will turn out good.
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Sea Urchin 1:23PM (6/09/2009)
Sure, car, cell phones, all the same. Either a dealers screws you or you get screwed by "roaming rates" or Internet access rates.
BTW i still think that Steve Jobs should have been hired to run GM.
Mr.Oak 1:25PM (6/09/2009)
Steve will be lucky to be alive in six months. Besides, he already has a job.
BrianFL 1:52PM (6/09/2009)
For real.
Let the eco-mentalist greenies start their conspiracy theorys on how GM sells out to big oil again because this guy used to work for Exxon
Sea Urchin 2:13PM (6/09/2009)
BrianFL, need i remind you that when GM marketing wanted to write a letter to big oil (publicity stunt) it was GM management that forced them to stop. Perception is reality.
tuxchown 2:29PM (6/09/2009)
Jobs is a god. But running an automobile company is no doubt completely different than anything he has ever done.
Jimbo 1:07PM (6/09/2009)
Sounds like he's got a good background and Mullaly has shown that bringing in someone outside the auto industry can be a good thing. However, I wonder if having the chairman of GM also serve on the board of the world's largest oil company is a good idea.
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mapoftazifosho 1:14PM (6/09/2009)
That seems like a pretty big conflict of interest.
Mike 6:02PM (6/09/2009)
It is a HUGE conflict of interest. He must retire from ExxonMobil's board or this would get real ugly. Expect lawsuits from EV contingents or "Who killed the electric car V2" in no time if he stays on that board...
mk3 5:37PM (6/09/2009)
As soon as I read AT&T I thought "What ?!!", than I read all the good thing he has done with AT&T and I thought "Maybe he can do the same" than as I continued reading I saw Exxon and I thought "AHA OK" .
It is very interesting how it turned out for this big corporation that USA wants to save. The country is the owner and now they make a CEO an oil guy.
My personal opinion he doesn't give a **** for cars.
Taglane 1:13PM (6/09/2009)
Damn this is getting more interesting by the day.
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brn 1:13PM (6/09/2009)
I wonder what his compensation will be like.
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Jeremy 1:15PM (6/09/2009)
Wow, what a bad decision.
This guy made AT&T one of the most anti-consumer companies around. The only thing he was good at was charging more for less, helping the Bush Administration with warrentless wiretapping, spending billions on a "next gen" network that is already out of date (U-Verse), overselling AT&T wireless service, funding astroturf anti. cable groups, starting the anti-netneutrality "Google should pay us because people on our network access so much of their content" BS, started the implementation of a content filtering system with the entertainment industry to... eh, screw it. I could be here all day listing the evil, anti-consumer crap he has done.
Go ahead GM, dig your grave.
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Rocketboy 2:52PM (6/09/2009)
"Go ahead GM".. GM? I'm sure Obama appointed him.
Shamdiddly 3:06PM (6/09/2009)
bravo on the use of "astroturf".
Jeremy 3:12PM (6/09/2009)
Highly unlikely considering the work he has done in and for the Republican Party and the significant amount of money he had donated to the Bush and McCain campaigns.
TigerMil 1:15PM (6/09/2009)
Another Old White Guy. WTF. Hey, I hear Jay Leno is available for the summer...ought to be enough time to turn GM around, or liquidate it.
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Alex 2:23PM (6/09/2009)
I would be cool with Leno taking over...
Shamdiddly 3:02PM (6/09/2009)
Fantastic. It's okay to have a half white, half black president that nobody should make fun of, but "another old white guy" is somehow bad for GM be cause he is old and white?
Some people have to realize that sometimes the best person for the job isn't the one that fulfills HR's "Diversity quota".
John 1:18PM (6/09/2009)
How good can this guy be if he is willing to accept the kind of salary that will be doled out by the new Executive Pay Czar?
Welcome to USSA!
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