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SBC's Whitacre Nominated by President Bush to Serve on NSTAC

Washington D.C., January 14, 2002 - President Bush announced on January 11, 2002, that he intends to appoint Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBC Communications, to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC).

“I look forward to representing the telecom industry in addressing the important issues of national security and emergency preparedness,” Whitacre said in an SBC press release. “In recent months, we have become all too aware of the importance of protecting the nation’s communications infrastructure. The work being done by NSTAC underscores that commitment, and I look forward to being part of such a worthwhile and worthwhile endeavor.”

The President's NSTAC is composed of up to 30 Presidentially appointed industry leaders (usually chief executive officers). In its advisory role to the President, the NSTAC provides industry-based analyses and recommendations on a wide range of policy and technical issues related to telecommunications, information assurance (IA), infrastructure protection, and other national security and emergency preparedness concerns. The current NSTAC chair is Daniel P. Burnham, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company.

During Whitacre's tenure leading SBC, the San Antonio-based company has differentiated itself from other former regional Bell operating companies through diversification, a disciplined growth strategy and strategic mergers and acquisitions. During this time, SBC has enjoyed an era of unprecedented growth.

Specifically, SBC has made major domestic and international through investments in Teléfonos de Mexico, Telkom South Africa, and the acquisitions of Pacific Telesis (1997), SNET (1998), Comcast (1999) and Ameritech (1999). In 2000, SBC had revenues of $53 billion and earnings of $7.7 billion. Additionally, the company has more than 215,000 employees, serves 24 states and the District of Columbia, and has a telecommunications presence in countries around the world, and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In recognition of SBC’s position in the U.S. economy, the company has been added to the list of companies making up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. SBC has repeatedly been named by Fortune magazine as the most admired telecommunications company in America and the world.

Born in Ennis, Texas, Whitacre graduated from Texas Tech University in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. He began his career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1963 as a facility engineer in Lubbock. He then progressed through a series of assignments in the company's operational departments in Texas, Arkansas and Kansas.

From 1982 to 1985, Whitacre headed Southwestern Bell Telephone Company's Kansas Division, leading the state division through the divestiture of the Bell System. He then moved to corporate headquarters where he served as group president, vice president-revenues and public affairs, and vice chairman and chief financial officer.

In recognition of his outstanding work and leadership, Whitacre in October 1988 was made president and chief operating officer, in which he was responsible for SBC's six primary subsidiaries. Less than a year-and-a-half later, Whitacre assumed his current position as SBC's chairman and CEO.

Whitacre’s leadership extends beyond the SBC community – and into the community at-large, where he is actively involved in a wide variety of educational and civic activities. In addition to past service as the national president of the Boy Scouts of America, he is the past chairman of the Board of Regents of Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He also served as the 1998 Chairman of the United Way Community Campaign for San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas. He remains a board member of the Boy Scouts and a trustee for the Advisory Board of the San Antonio United Way group.

Admired throughout the entire business community, Whitacre also serves on the boards of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, Emerson Electric Co., and The May Department Stores Company. He is also on the board of the Institute for International Economics and is a member of The Business Council. Additionally, in 2001, he was named to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

In recognition of his commitment to business and community, Whitacre has been named one of the Top 25 Executives of the Year by Business Week and has been listed as one of the “Best CEOs” in America by Worth magazine. He also has earned a number of awards for his contributions to business and civic affairs, including the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Freeman Award, the Spirit of Achievement Award from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, and the International Citizen of the Year Award from the San Antonio World Affairs Council. He’s been inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Achievement. He has also been recognized with the Corporate Leadership Award from the National Minority Supplier Development Council and is a recipient of the Obelisk Leadership Award, recognizing outstanding commitment to the arts.

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