John D Zeglis

AT&T Corp.'s board of directors met Wednesday to ponder the selection of a new chief executive--a pivotal decision that could determine the future direction of the beleaguered phone giant--but broke up without an announcement. Speculation on a successor to Robert E. Allen has focused largely on two contenders--insider John D. Zeglis, AT&T vice chairman, and outsider C. Michael Armstrong, chief executive of Hughes Electronics Corp., a Los Angeles-based unit of General Motors Corp.

AT&T Corp.'s board of directors met Wednesday to ponder the selection of a new chief executive--a pivotal decision that could determine the future direction of the beleaguered phone giant--but broke up without an announcement. Speculation on a successor to Robert E. Allen has focused largely on two contenders--insider John D. Zeglis, AT&T vice chairman, and outsider C. Michael Armstrong, chief executive of Hughes Electronics Corp., a Los Angeles-based unit of General Motors Corp.

At an age when many executives are pondering the transition to retirement, C. Michael Armstrong is looking to lead AT&T Corp., a phone company in the midst of a conversion of its own. AT&T is expected to announce today that it will tap Armstrong, who turned 59 on Saturday, as its new chief executive. The selection of the head of Hughes Electronics Corp. would bring to a close one of the most tortured and closely watched head hunts in corporate history.

Signaling potential consolidation in the mobile phone industry, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. on Thursday hired advisors to recommend whether the nation's third-largest wireless company should be sold. Rumors about AT&T Wireless have bubbled since it spun off from AT&T Corp. in 2001, but they intensified over the last week as the company reportedly mulled over offers from competitors such as Cingular Wireless. But on Thursday the Redmond, Wash.

After a four-week courtship and a whirlwind weekend, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. agreed Tuesday to join Cingular Wireless in a $41-billion cash deal that would create the nation's largest mobile phone company. Cingular's acquisition of AT&T Wireless would reduce to five the number of major players in the cutthroat industry, a consolidation analysts said could lead to more stable profits, possibly at the expense of customers.

Awarding an outsider the job for the first time in a century, AT&T Corp. formally announced its choice of telecommunications executive C. Michael Armstrong as chairman while also announcing plans to sell two units as part of a strategic about-face. Armstrong, sought out by AT&T directors for his corporate turnaround expertise, will take over Nov. 1, replacing beleaguered Chairman Robert E. Allen.

AT & T Corp. is expected to announce Monday that Los Angeles aerospace executive C. Michael Armstrong of Hughes Electronics Corp. will become its chief executive, officials close to the two companies said Friday. Armstrong, who is widely credited with shifting Hughes from a military to a commercial footing, will face another difficult task at AT & T: restoring the industry leadership that the long-distance giant has allowed to slip away.

Over the years, many Microsoft Corp. competitors and customers -- along with more than a few government regulators -- have concluded that it is a relentless monolith bent on using its hold over PCs to seize control of everything from digital music to the massive computer systems that run the biggest businesses.