"When Ed Whitacre decides, it's not negotiable. If he decides against you, you're done."
--Coca-Cola (KO) exec Wendy Clark, about General Motors' (GM) new CEO, whom she worked for when he headed AT&T (ATT). Today, the GM board ousted CEO Fritz Henderson, who was in the post just eight months, and installed Whitacre, GM's chairman, as the new chief executive.
No doubt, Whitacre had a key role in the power shift.
And hearing Clark talk about the man, you understand that anyone working under him is on a short leash. Clark, a rising star who is SVP of Integrated Marketing and Communications at Coke and previously headed marketing for Whitacre at AT&T, spoke about his unusual leadership style last month at a Fortune Most Powerful Women dinner event in Atlanta. "He doesn't talk much. He listens intently. He surrounds himself with experts who know everything," Clark said. She calls Whitacre "the greatest mentor" she's ever had.
Her view of Whitacre at GM? "If Ed can't fix it, no one can fix it," she says.--Patricia Sellers
"I felt it was the right thing to do. We are a company that expects the highest performance and accountability, and that starts at the top."
- AT&T (ATT) CEO Randall L. Stephenson, in a memo to employees about forgoing his 2008 bonus. Here's a boss who (unlike the Wall Street honchos) didn't have to give it up. In fact, Stephenson's decision distinguishes him as a very different kind of leader MORE
Patricia Sellers - Feb 2, 2009 3:59 PM ET
by Stephanie Mehta
Pattie Sellers recently blogged about good and bad corporate behavior. Here's another example to add to the "good form" category: AT&T chief Randall L. Stephenson is forgoing his 2008 bonus.
"I asked the board not to pay me a bonus for 2008, and they approved that request," Stephenson wrote in a memo to employees. "Given the economic environment, the workforce reductions, and our earnings outlook for 2009, I felt MORE
Patricia Sellers - Feb 2, 2009 1:41 PM ET
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Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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Fortune Most Powerful Women
Sheryl Sandberg:
Gina Bianchini
