It began decorously enough, given the indecorous business at hand. In a telephone (naturally) press conference, AT&T; outside director Walter Elisha patted company president John Walter on the back for having made "important contributions" to the feckless phone company. Then Elisha stuck the knife in: "The board has decided it will not elect him CEO...therefore, John has decided to leave the company."
Since Elisha had just dispatched the heir apparent of the nation's seventh largest company, his attempt to avoid explaining the dismissal was akin to a man trying dodge raindrops in a downpour. Questioned persistently, he finally said Walter lacked...
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