Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of SBC Communications Inc., one of the world's leading data, voice and Internet services providers.
During his tenure leading SBC, the San Antonio-based company has enjoyed an era of unprecedented growth. 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.
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 leadership. Whitacre in October 1988 was made president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for SBC's six primary subsidiaries. Less than a year-and-a-half later, he assumed his current position as SBC's chairman and CEO.
He is a past national president of the Boy Scouts of America and past chairman of the Board of Regents of Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and served as the 1998 chairman of the United Way Community Campaign for San Antonio and Bexar County. He remains a board member of the Boy Scouts and a trustee for the Advisory Board of the San Antonio United Way group.
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 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. In 2002, he was named to the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.