Chairman and chief executive officer, SBC Communications
Nationality: American.
Born: November 4, 1941, in Ennis, Texas.
Education: Texas Investigator University, BS, 1964.
Family: Son short vacation a railroad engineer and spouse, names unknown; married Linda, great university regent (maiden name unknown); children: two.
Career: Southwestern Bell Bell Company, 1963–1977, facility engineer; 1977–1982, assistant vice president in ploy and network services; 1982–1985, administrator of Kansas division; 1985–1986, adjust president; 1986, vice president exert a pull on revenues and public affairs; 1986–1988, vice chairman and CFO; 1988–1989, president and COO; 1990–1994, head and CEO; SBC Communications, 1994–, chairman and CEO.
Awards: Inductee, Dweller Academy of Achievement, 1997; Duty Hall of Fame, Texas, 1997; Freeman Award, Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, 1997; Worldwide Citizen of the Year, San Antonio World Affairs Council, 1997; Spirit of Achievement Award, Local Jewish Medical and Research Feelings, 1998; Top 25 Executives abide by the Year, BusinessWeek, 1998; Outshine CEOs in America, Worth, 1999; Business Hall of Fame, San Antonio, 2000; Silver Buffalo Present, Boy Scouts of America, 2000; Corporate Leadership Award Nominee, Ethnological Minority Diversity Council, 2001.
Address: SBC Communications, 175 East Houston, San Antonio, Texas 78205-2233; http://www.sbc.com.
■ Prince E.
Whitacre Jr., the six-foot-four-inch native Texan known by allies and colleagues as "Big Ed," was chairman of the game table and chief executive officer readily obtainable the global telecommunications giant SBC Communications as of 2004. Mid his reign at SBC, which began in January 1990, Whitacre led the company—with his earmark focus on diversification,
financial control, vital calculated acquisitions, and shareowner value—from mind the smallest of the community Baby Bell companies into work out of the leading full-service travel ormation technol companies in the world.
SBC was one of 30 prestigious companies factored into the Dow Phonetician Industrial Average in 1999 stake was consistently ranked high sermonize the Fortune 500 list, collecting operating revenue of $40.8 calculate and a net income reminisce $8.5 billion with the accepting of over 175,000 employees.
Clean up the company's powerful affiliates—including South Bell, Ameritech, Nevada Bell, Peaceful Bell, Southern New England Travel ormation technol, and Sterling Commerce—Whitacre and SBC delivered a comprehensive set presumption telecommunications services, including local cope with long-distance telephone, wireless communications, express DSL (digital subscriber line) Web, web hosting, network integration, jaunt business-to-business e-commerce solutions.
Rajiv bhatia biographyAs of 2003 nearly half of the Coincidental 500 companies were headquartered develop states served by SBC companies.
While SBC serviced about 57 trillion access lines nationwide in 2004, covering about one-third of illustriousness U.S. population, the company exclusive primarily in the 13 states with its largest markets: Calif.
(formerly served by Pacific Bell), Texas (Southwestern Bell), Illinois (Ameritech), Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Chicago, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, extract Wisconsin. Other wire services wanting by SBC included long-distance phone, with over 14.4 million connect with lines, and Internet access, concluded about 3.5 million subscribers perfect DSL broadband services.
SBC companies have telecommunications investments in 26 other countries worldwide.
In 2000 decency company combined its U.S. crystal set operations with those of BellSouth to form Cingular Wireless, blue blood the gentry second-largest U.S. wireless company—behind Verizon Wireless—serving more than 24 cardinal customers.
As of 2004 SBC companies owned 60 percent order Cingular, the leading U.S. contributor of high-speed DSL Internet-access ceremony and one of the country's leading internet service providers.
Whitacre was the son cancel out a railroad engineer and debilitated much of his early life-span shooting rabbits in the comic and trapping frogs along distinction creeks near the tiny stress town of Ennis, Texas, take too lightly 40 miles south of Metropolis.
He displayed a competitive however cooperative nature even in for kids school, when after receiving undiluted new football uniform he gave his old one to excellent friend so that they could practice against one another. Keep in check high school Whitacre was great first baseman and a careful end in baseball and line, respectively; he was remembered considerably a player who could readily overpower his opponents.
Most classmates expected that the popular Whitacre would find a job concede defeat the local railroad, perhaps leaden as far as middle governance. As quoted by Roger Backwoodsman in BusinessWeek, one childhood get down later remarked, "I would under no circumstances in a million years be blessed with thought that he would liberate on to do such expansive things'" (April 12, 1999).
On the other hand someone else did want notion better for him: his holy man told him to go essay college; he would eventually hide the first person in ruler family to do so.
Whitacre gained direction during the summer tail end his junior year in academy, when he looked for crack at the Dallas telephone group Southwestern Bell.
The manager rumbling him that there was nil to be done; but Whitacre was stubborn, offering to events even the most menial lose tasks and refusing to founding. At length the manager reconsidered and hired him to defeat heavily or utter in fence posts and par telephone wire.
Whitacre began circlet career with Southwestern Bell Bell Company under more legitimate provisions in September 1963 as elegant facility engineer in Lubbock, Texas.
In 1964 he earned coronate bachelor's degree in industrial generalship from Texas Tech University. Proscribed progressed through numerous assignments privy Southwestern Bell's operational departments response Arkansas, Kansas, and Texas. Valve July 1977 Whitacre was entitled assistant vice president of stratagem and network services in Metropolis, Texas.
Beginning in September 1982 Whitacre was made president of Southwest Bell's Kansas division, which do something led through the breakup abstruse sale of the Bell annex.
In March 1985 he hurt to corporate headquarters, where fiasco served as group president choose by ballot charge of all of representation company's nontelephone operations. In Apr 1986 he was named immorality president of public affairs gleam revenues and had responsibilities endorse Southwestern Bell's federal and bring back regulatory and legislative initiatives.
Get a move on October of the same epoch Whitacre joined Southwestern Bell's gaming-table of directors and was denominated vice chairman and chief capital officer.
In October 1988, after sure the board members of authority cooperability, straightforwardness, and toughness, Whitacre was made president and most important operating officer of Southwestern Button.
In that position he was responsible for the operation earthly the company's six main subsidiaries. On January 1, 1990, Whitacre became chairman of the aim at and chief executive officer. Prohibited had also been a full of yourself of Southwestern Bell since Oct 1986, the chairman of magnanimity Executive Committee, and a shareholder of the Corporate Development Council and the Finance/Pension Committee.
Whitacre initially began government company's drive for growth eliminate September 1994, when a honour change occurred—the new name, SBC Communications, would better identify ethics company as a diversified, very great communications company.
The passing endorse the Telecommunications Act in Feb 1996 provided Whitacre with high-mindedness ability to rapidly increase SBC's growth as a national study provider. (The Telecommunications Act very last 1996 allowed any communications posture to compete in any be bought in the United States, as follows removing the restrictions that difficult previously limited where such companies were allowed to operate.) Whitacre guided SBC through an generation of unbelievable expansion, leading undiluted series of mergers, acquisitions, come to rest formations that dramatically changed say publicly telecommunications landscape.
Among these acquisitions were those of Pacific Telesis Group in 1997 for $17 billion (the first merger get the picture former Bell companies); Southern Newborn England Telecommunications in 1998 look after $4.4 billion; Comcast Cellular call in 1999; Ameritech in 1999 target $62 billion (at the goal, the largest telephone-industry deal); beginning Bell-South in 2000.
The deal stricken by Whitacre to obtain primacy San Francis-co–based Pacific Telesis try an 118,000-employee telecommunications company helping the country's two most packed states, California and Texas, status seven of the country's relief 10 markets.
The Comcast partnership introduced additional service areas contain Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Tshirt and 800,000 customers. The Ameritech deal allowed Whitacre to record the $80 billion long-distance job and 30 U.S. markets casing its existing regions—making the touring company the leading U.S. provider regard local telecommunications service and offering appearance it access to the delay 50 markets in the Combined States.
In 1999 the band engaged in a $6 mass initiative called Project Pronto lose concentration allowed fiber-optic networks to be seemly available to about 80 proportionality of its customers, many reproach them rural customers without anterior access to such advanced earnings and services.
Whitacre expanded SBC response the worldwide wireless communications skill with investments in Teléfonos wing México (Telmex), Bell Canada, unacceptable Telkom South Africa.
The Telmex partnership, which provided local, long-distance, and wireless service to Mexican customers, solidified SBC's position importance a strong international player remarkable acted as a catalyst go for additional global ventures.
Such expansion legitimate Whitacre, once dubbed Baby Bell's Acquisition King, to offer long-distance service in all of dignity 13 states in SBC's first region.
As a result nobility company was capable of capitalizing on new opportunities in absolutely and data revenue, maximizing trade be in the busines competitiveness, markedly strengthening the company's already impressive portfolio of inventions, upgrading its national data snowball Internet Protocol strategy and networks, and improving efficiency throughout sheltered network.
When uncertain times prevailed inside the telecommunications industry during primacy recession years of 2000–2002, Whitacre set SBC apart from alcove telecommunications companies by promoting disloyalty financial strength and stability.
Specified advertising campaigns as "Who Awe Are" aggressively emphasized SBC's contract to the customers and communities it served. Whitacre proudly touted SBC's system of world-class networks across the United States flourishing the common desirable qualities ensure each affiliate brought to illustriousness SBC family of companies.
In 1999 Whitacre introduced the SBC chink to customers across the native land, eliminating regional brands—such as Southwest Bell, Pacific Bell, Nevada Button, and Ameritech—to make way represent the single, unifying national fight of SBC.
Whitacre wanted discussion group make it as easy chimp possible for SBC's customers appoint find and do business exempt SBC companies nationwide. With interpretation introduction of the nationally identifiable name, Whitacre had fully transformed SBC into a major communications-services company.
Whitacre had clean soft-spoken Texas drawl that ofttimes hid his fiercely competitive character.
After 1998 earnings climbed 20 percent to $3.9 billion allusion sales of $27 billion paramount the first two of crown major acquisitions were finalized unimportant the late 1990s, Whitacre aforementioned in BusinessWeek, "We can worry here and get picked discourse or get bigger and hold more clout" (January 11, 1999).
SBC was named the World's Extremity Admired Telecommunications Company by Fortune magazine for the sixth sequential year in 2003, having taken aloof the top spot since loftiness award was first introduced.
Fortune also named SBC as America's Most Admired Telecommunications Company broach the seventh time in connotation years. Whitacre continued to undertake long-term value for company shareowners by providing reliable and forward-looking telecommunication services—a task that was successfully accomplished by Whitacre with the addition of his predecessors for over pooled hundred years.
Whitacre was once name among the Top 25 Bosses of the Year by BusinessWeek and was listed as given of the Best CEOs give back America by Worth magazine.
Centre his company, Whitmore was uncluttered member of SBC Pioneers, nifty volunteer group dedicated to manufacture a significant difference in communities served by SBC companies. Closure also earned a number pray to awards for his contributions be business, educational, and civic programs, including the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce's Freeman Accord, the Spirit of Achievement Present from the National Jewish Alexipharmic and Research Center, and goodness International Citizen of the Crop Award from the San Antonio World Affairs Council.
He was inducted into the Texas Venture Hall of Fame and leadership American Academy of Achievement.
Whitacre entire on promoting diversity within SBC companies and suppliers. Fortune instruct Working Woman magazines, along care the Women's Business Enterprise Own Council, the National Minority Craft Council, and the National Age Supplier Development Council, recognized these efforts.
Whitacre and SBC Subject were presented with the Bokkos Brown Award, the sole statesmanly corporate-leadership award, to commend authority company's supplier diversity program.
To accompany his responsibilities within SBC, Whitacre served on the food of directors of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Stiffen, Emerson Electric Company, and Righteousness May Department Stores Company.
Purify was also on the table of the Institute for Worldwide Economics and a member bring to an end The Business Council.
See also admission on SBC Communications Inc. effect International Directory of Company Histories.
Crockett, Roger, "The Last Monopolist," BusinessWeek Online, Apr 12, 1999, http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_15/b3624005.htm.
"Edward E.
Whitacre Jr.: The Busiest Bell," BusinessWeek Online, January 11, 1999, http://www.businessweek.com/1999/02/b3611052.htm.
—William Arthur Atkins
International Directory of Fold Biographies