David Dorman

AT&T Corp. Chief Executive David Dorman confirmed expectations Thursday that he would not stay on long after AT&T's acquisition by SBC Communications Inc., opting for $10.3 million in severance pay and a lucrative consulting contract rather than a subordinate post at the combined company. Dorman, 51, also chairman of AT&T, will serve as president of the merged company and a member of its board "for a brief transition period," after which he will resign from both positions, SBC said. Edward E.

AT&T Corp. Chief Executive David Dorman confirmed expectations Thursday that he would not stay on long after AT&T's acquisition by SBC Communications Inc., opting for $10.3 million in severance pay and a lucrative consulting contract rather than a subordinate post at the combined company. Dorman, 51, also chairman of AT&T, will serve as president of the merged company and a member of its board "for a brief transition period," after which he will resign from both positions, SBC said. Edward E.

AT&T Corp. on Tuesday announced the promotion of a new president to oversee its core businesses, as Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong focuses on the details of breaking his struggling empire into three smaller pieces. David Dorman, 46, takes over after a stint heading Concert, AT&T's joint venture with British Telecommunications.

AT&T Corp. on Tuesday announced the promotion of a new president to oversee its core businesses, as Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong focuses on the details of breaking his struggling empire into three smaller pieces. David Dorman, 46, takes over after a stint heading Concert, AT&T's joint venture with British Telecommunications.

Pacific Bell, saying it needs fresh management talent to lead it into unfamiliar competitive terrain, on Monday named Sprint Corp. executive David Dorman as president and chief executive. Dorman, 40, assumes posts held by Phil Quigley, who on April 1 became chairman and CEO of Pacific Telesis Group, the holding company that gets 98% of its revenue from PacBell. Quigley remains chairman of PacBell, the exclusive provider of local phone service in two-thirds of California.

'I'm just a boring guy," says David Dorman, who rose to become the youngest chief executive in the history of 50,000-employee Pacific Bell, then willingly gave up that lofty position to head a 260-person Silicon Valley start-up. Boring indeed. Last October, 44-year-old Dorman became the chairman, president and chief executive of PointCast, the pioneering "push" media company.

AT&T Corp. appointed President David Dorman and Chief Financial Officer Charles Noski to its board as the biggest U.S. long-distance phone company prepares to separate its cable-television business. Noski, 49, also was named vice chairman and will remain CFO. The appointments take effect immediately.

* WorldCom Inc. sought to calm its creditors by offering to promise not to sell any of its subsidiaries over the next 70 days, a move a company lawyer said was an effort to buy itself breathing room. * Qwest Communications International Inc. had its credit rating slashed three levels by Standard & Poor's on concern the telephone company would default on a bank loan and fail to make debt payments. Its long-term rating was cut to B-plus from BB-plus. * AT&T Corp.

AT&T Corp. and Comcast Corp. on Wednesday won shareholder approval for the planned $27-billion merger of AT&T Broadband with Comcast, which would create the nation's No. 1 cable television operator, with more than 22 million customers. That go-ahead came as AT&T Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong said that President David Dorman is the front-runner to succeed him, and that a plan to issue tracking shares for the consumer long-distance telephone unit may be scrapped.

PointCast Inc. is shifting its focus from the individual to the corporation as it seeks profits and more customers and considers an initial public offering this year. The money-losing Sunnyvale-based company is a pioneer in offering so-called push services that let publishers and advertisers target information directly at individual personal-computer users. The shift comes after the initial promise of push services failed to materialize. PointCast, which increased its subscriber base 52% to 1.

'I'm just a boring guy," says David Dorman, who rose to become the youngest chief executive in the history of 50,000-employee Pacific Bell, then willingly gave up that lofty position to head a 260-person Silicon Valley start-up. Boring indeed. Last October, 44-year-old Dorman became the chairman, president and chief executive of PointCast, the pioneering "push" media company.

Pacific Bell, saying it needs fresh management talent to lead it into unfamiliar competitive terrain, on Monday named Sprint Corp. executive David Dorman as president and chief executive. Dorman, 40, assumes posts held by Phil Quigley, who on April 1 became chairman and CEO of Pacific Telesis Group, the holding company that gets 98% of its revenue from PacBell. Quigley remains chairman of PacBell, the exclusive provider of local phone service in two-thirds of California.