Ed whitacre biography

American businessman

Edward Earl Whitacre Jr. (born November 4, 1941) is the former chairman and CEO of General Motors. He is also a former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of AT&T, previously Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC). He served as national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 1998 to 2000. On September 1, 2010, Whitacre stepped down as CEO, and retired as chairman of the board by the end of 2010.

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.

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 regional bell operating company, Southwestern Bell Corporation. Two years later, Whitacre became chairman of the board and chief executive officer. In 1995, Southwestern Bell Corporation changed its name to SBC Communications. Whitacre led SBC through a series of mergers and acquisitions in building the largest provider of both local long distance telephone services and wireless service (through its Cingular division) in the United States. These acquisitions included Pacific Telesis (1997), SNET (1998), Comcast Cellular (1999), Ameritech (1999) and AT&T Corporation (2005), from which the post-merger company took its name, as well as the 2006 acquisition of Bell South.

On June 23, 2006, he and the CEO of

Biography

Texas Tech nominated and selected Whitacre as a Distinguished Engineer in 1985 to recognize his accomplishments.

In recognition of his outstanding work and leadership at Southwestern Bell, Whitacre was made president and chief operating officer in October 1988, taking responsibility for the company's six primary subsidiaries. Within 16 months, he became chairman and chief executive officer. In 1995, the company changed its name to SBC Communications.

At the request of Chancellor John T. Montford, Whitacre served as the national campaign chairman for Texas Tech's Horizon Fundraising Campaign from 1996 to 2001.

Under Whitacre's leadership, SBC made significant domestic and international investments. In addition, SBC established several groundbreaking strategic partnerships with companies such as Yahoo! and EchoStar, enabling SBC to set the pace for DSL sales, as well as enter the video market. SBC joined with BellSouth to create Cingular Wireless, which was acquired by AT&T Wireless in 2004.

Whitacre led on a disciplined growth strategy through a series of industry-changing mergers and acquisitions, including the 2005 acquisition of AT&T Corp. — after which the company ado

Edward E. Whitacre Jr. was born on November 4, 1941 in Ennis, Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 1964 with a bachelor of science in industrial engineering. He began his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1963 as a facility engineer in Lubbock, Texas. He then progressed through a series of assignments in the company's operational departments in Texas, Arkansas and Kansas.

From 1982 to 1985, Whitacre headed Southwestern Bell's Kansas Division, leading the state division through the divestiture of the Bell System. He then moved to corporate headquarters where he served as group president, vice president of revenues and public affairs, and vice chairman and chief financial officer.

Texas Tech nominated and selected Whitacre as a Distinguished Engineer in 1985 to recognize his accomplishments.

In recognition of his outstanding work and leadership at Southwestern Bell, Whitacre was made president and chief operating officer in October 1988, taking responsibility for the company's six primary subsidiaries. Within 16 months, he became chairman and chief executive officer. In 1995, the company changed its name to SBC Communications.

At the request of Chancellor John T. Montford, Whitacre served as the national campaign chairman for Texas Tech's Horizon Fundraising Campaign from 1996 to 2001.

Under Whitacre's leadership, SBC made significant domestic and international investments. In addition, SBC established several groundbreaking strategic partnerships with companies such as Yahoo! and EchoStar, enabling SBC to set the pace for DSL sales as well as enter the video market. SBC joined with BellSouth to create Cingular Wireless, which in 2004 acquired AT&T Wireless.

Whitacre led on a disciplined growth strategy and through a series of industry-changing mergers and acquisitions, including the 2005 acquisition of AT&T Corp., after which the company adopted the name, AT&T Inc.

SBC and the new AT&T have

Ed was born November 4, 1941, in Ennis, Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. While at Texas tech, Whitacre was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He began his career at Southwestern Bell in 1963, working as a facility engineer. In 1998, he became president and chief operating officer of Regional Bell Operating Company. Two years later, Ed became chairman of the board and chief executive officer. After a series of merges and acquisitions, Bell owned several telephone services, one including AT&T. At the 2007 AT&T annual stockholders meeting, Whitacre announced his retirement from the company. In 2009, General Motors named Whitacre as chairman. In 2010, he retired from the company, after helping them out of major debt. AT&T headquarters in downtown Dallas was named “Whitacre Tower” in honor of Ed being with the company for 44 years. In 2008, Texas Tech announced that the engineering building will be renamed Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering. Whitacre was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S Business Hall of Fame in 2009. Whitacre lives in San Antonio, Texas, but travels to Detroit often.