Ed Whitacre

Edward E. Whitacre, Jr. is the Former Chairman & CEO, General Motors Company, and Chairman Emeritus, AT&T Inc. Whitacre currently serves on the board of Exxon Mobil Corporation.  He was named one of the Top 25 Executives of the Year by BusinessWeek.

In March 2009, the White House decided that GM needed a new chairman and a new direction, and Whitacre got the call. When he was asked if he thought the “unfixable” company could be fixed, his answer was unwavering: Yes.   Because despite what he was told – by the White House, Wall Street, and “car experts” around the world – one quick look at the company made clear to him that it wasn’t the economy or bad luck that got GM into trouble.  It was bad management—and management he could fix.