Ex-AT&T CEO will be chairman of new GM

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DETROIT (Reuters) -- General Motors Corp said Tuesday that former chairman and chief executive of AT&T Inc (T, Fortune 500) Edward Whitacre will become chairman of the restructured automaker later this summer.

The No. 1 U.S. automaker, which filed for bankruptcy on June 1, plans to undertake a quick sale process that would allow a much smaller company to emerge from court protection in as little as 60-90 days.

GM (GMGMQ) said the new chairman will take over when the smaller, restructured company is formed in the next few months. The automaker's current interim chairman, Kent Kresa, will continue to serve in that position until then.

Kresa, former chief executive of Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC, Fortune 500), became GM chairman in March when the Obama administration ousted Rick Wagoner, who had been both GM's chief executive and chairman.

Whitacre and Kresa, along with current board members Philip Laskawy, Kathryn Marinello, Erroll Davis Jr., E. Neville Isdell and Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson, will serve as the "nucleus" of the restructured company's board, GM said in a statement.

The six other members of the current board will most likely retire, according to the automaker.

GM has retained executive search firm Spencer Stuart to find directors to serve on the board of the new company that it expects to emerge from bankruptcy.

The automaker said a selection process is currently under way for four more directors to serve on the board.

Also, the Canadian government and the new UAW Voluntary Employee Benefit Association will each be nominating one director, bringing the total number of directors of the reorganized company to 13.