GM considers former AT&T exec for top financial post

Robert Snell / The Detroit News

General Motors Co. is considering a former vice chairman of AT&T among roughly seven candidates to replace Chief Financial Officer Ray Young, according to two sources familiar with the search.

Charles Noski, a member of Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors, has the mix of financial acumen and executive experience that could also be essential if the GM board eventually replaces President and CEO Fritz Henderson, a source said.

Noski was AT&T's senior executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1999 to 2002. He became vice chairman in February 2002, though his tenure at the telecom company did not overlap with that of GM board chairman Ed Whitacre, who served as chairman and CEO of AT&T after it merged with SBC Communications in 2005.

The CFO search is an essential part of GM's restructuring considering Young and the automaker's financial department drew intense criticism from the White House this year. The finance job has been a springboard into the CEO's office. Two of Young's predecessors as finance chief -- Henderson and Rick Wagoner -- were eventually promoted to chief executive officer.

The next CFO not only has to tackle deeply ingrained problems at GM but also win the confidence of politicians and the White House. In widely read comments published last month, Steven Rattner, President Barack Obama's former top auto adviser, said GM had "perhaps the weakest finance operation any of us had ever seen in a major company."

"Chuck Noski is an outstanding chief financial officer. I think he is a man of very high integrity and he applies himself to the fullest extent possible," said former AT&T CEO C. Michael Armstrong, who hired Noski at AT&T in 1999. "He is just a terrific partner to have in the business world."

It is unknown whether Noski, 57, has been offered the job or is interested in working for GM, where he would have to agree to executive pay restrictions under compensation limits imposed by the federal government -- GM's majority stakeholder.

Henderson told reporters Thursday the pay limits, in a way, make the hiring of top executives from outside GM possible, but he would not comment specifically about the CFO position.

"I think that having certainty as how to pay people and, having the ground rules ... doesn't make it easy but makes it feasible," he said. "At least you can say, 'Here is how it works,' and people can consider it."

But when asked about the CFO search, he said he was "not going to comment. We'll have a chance to talk about it in the future. Today, we're not going to get into that."

Noski could not be reached for comment.

Noski, who owns a $3.4 million home overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles, Calif., has already made millions in a career spanning the electronics, telecommunications and defense industries. And he could reap a windfall if GM's financial situation improves and with a successful initial public offering, which could happen in mid-2010.

The Detroit News has learned that GM last month reached out to one of the four largest accounting firms to hire a senior accountant but a hire fell through at the last minute, according to a source familiar with the job search.

Once Young is replaced, he is expected to be reassigned to help run GM's international operations.

One source said Noski is Whitacre's first choice to replace Young though it was unclear Friday whether Noski was a leading candidate or merely one of several under consideration.

Noski has financial experience working for companies that, like GM, must withstand intense federal regulation. That is seen as essential considering the government holds a 60.8 percent stake in GM.

Noski also would not be a true GM outsider.

He was president, chief operating officer and a director of Hughes Electronics Corp., a former GM subsidiary and parent of DirecTV. He left in December 1999 and joined AT&T, which at the time was headed by Armstrong, who used to run Hughes.

Noski retired from AT&T in November 2002 and spent 2003-2005 as vice president and CFO of defense industry contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. and was a director of the company's board. Noski has served on Microsoft's board since 2003 and also sits on the boards of Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

rsnell@detnews.com (313) 222-2028 Christine Tierney contributed.