Whitacre To Become GM's Chairman After Bankruptcy

Former AT&T Chairman and Chief Executive Edward E. Whitacre Jr. will become chairman of General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ) when the company leaves bankruptcy.

Interim Chairman Kent Kresa, who will continue in that role until the launch of the "new" GM, called the appointment "a very auspicious beginning" for the company.

GM filed for bankruptcy last week as part of a government-aided restructuring which will result in some 20,000 more job cuts by the end of 2011 and leave the U.S. as the majority owner of the company.

Whitacre, 67, was chairman and CEO of AT&T and its predecessor companies from 1990 to 2007, when he retired with a $158 million package. During his tenure, which began with Southwestern Bell, Whitacre led the company through a series of mergers and acquisitions - including the 2005 AT&T acquisition which created the nation's largest provider of local, long-distance and wireless services.

Whitacre said he was "honored to be able to serve GM at this critical juncture and take part in its reinvention."

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 Frederick A. Henderson, will serve as the nucleus of the new GM board.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658; [e-mail]