The Journal

Issue date: 4/14/05 Section: News

WHITACRE

The greatest advice chairman and CEO of SBC Communications, Inc., Ed Whitacre, gave to a full-house at Winifred Moore Auditorium at the third annual Presidential Leadership Lecture was to live by the Golden Rule. He came to Webster University as part of the School of Business and Technology's Dean's Speaker Series, a speaker series of corporate leaders and lecturers.

Whitacre began as a chairman for Southwestern Bell in 1988. The company has since become SBC and has bought other companies, such as Pacific Bell and Ameritech. SBC also owns 60 percent of Cingular. SBC is currently working on a merger with AT&T.

He positioned SBC for great rewards in the future and created stability in an unstable market said Ken Hance, who presented Whitacre.

Almost 700 Webster graduates are working for SBC.

"We appreciate the fine graduates you produce," Whitacre said.

Whitacre used personal anecdotes and compliments toward St. Louis to engage the crowd before going into his speech. He stated the telecommunications industry has been rocked by outmoded regulations.

Whitacre said one reason there was a collapse of the telecommunications industry was a bad economy. Half a million jobs have been lost and investors lost $2 trillion.

SBC is looking forward to a bright future based on technology and customer demand. Companies are restructuring and consolidation is taking place.

"We're all getting into each other's business," Whitacre said. "It's what a communications company looks like. Cable is in telecommunications; telecommunications is in cable."

SBC has a significant presence in three areas of competition: the Internet, wireless business and global capabilities.

"We have a strong network and global presence," Whitacre said. "That's when we thought we should buy AT&T."

Benjamin Akande, dean of the School of Business and Technology, led a question and answer period which lasted about 15 minutes. When Akande asked what was next for SBC, Whitacre replied, "more consolidation and several large companies with choices for customers, such as local and long distance service, broadband and video services."

Whitacre had another appointment in St. Louis and had to leave quickly. The audience was asked to remain seated while Whitacre was escorted out of the auditorium by Hance, Webster President Richard Meyers and Vice President Neil George.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools