SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The former AT&T Inc. executive tapped as the new chairman of beleaguered General Motors Corp. readily admits he knows nothing about making cars, but he said he has no fears about his new role.
"I think we'll do very well," Edward Whitacre Jr. told the San Antonio Express-News after the Tuesday announcement of his appointment.
The 67-year-old Texan, credited with growing his telecommunications company from the smallest of the Baby Bells to an industry behemoth, said his experience running a large business will help him transition into the role at the automaker.
GM filed for bankruptcy protection last week and is trying to pare down its business and re-emerge with heavy government intervention.
Whitacre, who retired from AT&T in 2007, replaces Kent Kressa, the interim chairman who stepped in after GM's former top executive was forced out earlier this year.
Whitacre said he sees his role in helping to rejuvenate the automaker as a "public service."
"I want to see if I can help General Motors attain the status it once had," he said. "I think America needs a company like General Motors."