Edward Whitacre Jr.
Edward Whitacre Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Edward Earl Whitacre Jr.[1] November 4, 1941 Ennis, Texas, U.S. |
Education | Texas Tech University BSE |
Occupation(s) | business executive and consultant |
Known for | leadership of Southwestern Bell Corporation/AT&T Inc., and General Motors |
Political party | Republican[2] |
Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former
Life and career
Whitacre was born in Ennis, Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and is a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.[5][6]
He began his career with Southwestern Bell in 1963 as a facility engineer.
In October 1988, Whitacre became president and chief operating officer of a
On June 23, 2006, he and the CEO of
Whitacre's compensation totaled $61 million in 2006,[8] $17 million in 2005, and about $14 million in 2004.[9]
In 2006, Whitacre famously declared that companies like Google, Yahoo! or Vonage should not be able to “use the pipes for free.” [10]
On April 27, 2007, at the AT&T annual stockholders meeting, Whitacre announced his intent to retire as chief executive officer and chairman of the board, effective June 3. The board of directors elected
As General Motors chairman and interim CEO, Whitacre does have a computer at his office and prefers to answer e-mail via BlackBerry.[14]
In May 2008, Whitacre was elected to the board of directors for ExxonMobil.[15]
On June 9, 2009, General Motors named Whitacre as chairman.[16] He took the position when the automaker emerged from bankruptcy proceedings on July 10, 2009.[17] On December 1, 2009, Whitacre became interim CEO following Fritz Henderson's resignation.[18] Since taking the helms, he has been dubbed the GM Reaper by many in blogs, noted for his strong desire to "kill off" brands and projects, such as Saab and a sub-Volt Toyota Prius competitor planned for Chevrolet. In January 2010, chairman Whitacre was appointed permanent CEO after serving in the post in an interim capacity. On September 1, 2010 he relinquished the CEO position to Daniel Akerson but agreed to continue on as GM Chairman to the end of the year.[19]
In February 2014 it was announced that he will deliver the Spring Commencement address for University of the Pacific's Stockton campus on May 10, 2014 at Alex G. Spanos Center.[20]
He continues to live in San Antonio, but frequently travels to Detroit.[21]
Honors
In 1997, Whitacre received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. His Golden Plate was presented by Awards Council member Carlos Slim.[22]
AT&T headquarters in downtown Dallas was dubbed "Whitacre Tower" in honor of Whitacre's 44 years at the company, 17 of which were spent as chairman and CEO.
In 2004, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the University of the Incarnate Word.[23]
On November 12, 2008,
Whitacre was inducted into the
In 2010, Whitacre was named as a finalist for Texan of the Year.[16]
In 2023, Whitacre was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for his contributions to the cellular industry.[24]
Book
- American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA. 2013. ISBN 1455513016
References
- ^ "Digest of Other White House Announcements". Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. 38 (2). Government Printing Office. January 14, 2002.
- ^ "Ed Whitacre, Jr".
- ^ GM's Whitacre Steps Down as CEO, Replaced by Akerson
- ^ "Dan Akerson to Become CEO, Whitacre Remains Chairman" (Press release). General Motors. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
- ^ In an editorial on the occasion of Whitacre's relinquishing the leadership of GM, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal expressed that Whitacre "very positively reflected on Texas Tech with what he accomplished" ("Whitacre's job turning around GM helps America and reflects well on Texas Tech". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. 2011-01-15. p. A6. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- hdl:2346/48703.
- ^ a b c Wu, Tim, The Master Switch, New York : Random House, 2010. Cf. especially Chapter 18, "The Return of AT&T", pp.238-253.
- ^ a b Washington Post: Long-Serving AT& T Chief To Leave With Huge Payout
- ^ Gubbins, Ed, "Whitacre's Worth", Telephony Online, Connected Planet, February 20, 2006
- ^ Ryan, Patrick, "Everyone already pays their fair share", Policy by the Numbers, December 14, 2011
- ^ 2007 AT&T Proxy Statement[permanent dead link]
- ^ "New CEO Takes Over Telecom Giant AT&T" Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine, The Associated Press, Sunday, June 3, 2007
- ^ BusinessWeek RESUME: Edward E. Whitacre Jr.
- ^ Scott, David Meerman, "Open letter to Ed Whitacre, new interim CEO of GM", December 03, 2009
- ^ "Edward E. Whitacre Jr. Elected to ExxonMobil Board", ExxonMobil news release, May 28, 2008
- ^ a b "Editorial: Texan of the Year finalist Ed Whitacre", The Dallas Morning News, 21 December 2010
- ^ Chang, Sue (June 9, 2009). "Edward Whitacre Jr. named new GM chairman". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
- ^ "GM Statement Attributed To Chairman Ed Whitacre", GM Press Release, December 1, 2009
- ^ Vlasic, Bill, "G.M. Chief Sees I.P.O. As Exit Sign", The New York Times, August 19, 2010 (August 20, 2010 print edition)
- ^ "Pacific Newsroom".
- ^ Hendricks, David (June 24, 2009). "China's SAIC noncommittal on stake in GM IPO". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "SBC's Whitacre will receive honorary doctorate", San Antonio Business Journal, Tuesday, May 4, 2004
- ^ Wireless History Foundation (2023). "Edward Whitacre Jr". Wireless Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
External links
- Whitacre's Stock Ownership, according to Forbes
- Appearances on C-SPAN