Former AT&T CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr., will be the new chairman of General Motors Corp. when the company emerges from bankruptcy later this summer, said GM's interim Chairman Kent Kresa in a statement released June 9.
Kresa will continue to serve as interim chairman until the launch.
Whitacre, 67, was chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc. and its predecessor companies from 1990 to 2007. During his tenure, 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.
Whitacre and Kresa, along with current board members Philip Laskawy, Kathryn Marinello, Erroll Davis, E. Neville Isdell and President and CEO Frederick Henderson, will serve as the nucleus of the post-bankruptcy board.
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.
