Former AT&T Chief to Be GM Chairman

Edward Whitacre Jr., who turned AT&T into the world's largest telecommunications company, will become chairman of General Motors Corp. when the company leaves bankruptcy, putting the government's stamp even more firmly on the car maker. Whitacre's selection, made by Treasury Department officials, comes as GM and the government race to reshape GM's culture after it ran out of money in December and entered bankruptcy protection last week. Whitacre's bulldozing style and attention to detail contrast with a GM boardroom criticized for being overly supportive of underperforming executives and unwilling to press for accountability. The 67-year-old Whitacre has never run a manufacturing company but has a track record of working closely with the government in the heavily regulated phone industry. Those skills could prove critical as GM restructures under Treasury scrutiny. Whitacre was chairman and CEO of AT&T and its predecessor companies from 1990 to 2007, when he retired with a $158 million package that was among the largest ever given to a corporate chief. He began working at the former Southwestern Bell while an industrial engineering student at Texas Tech University in 1963. He rose through the ranks and eventually led the company through a series of mergers and acquisitions.