John R. Walter.

• Author: Alioto, Maryann
• Position: Former AT&T CEO's membership in several corporate boards

One year after AT&T, Prime Capital's new board member discusses directorships, business trends, and definitions of success.

When AT&T announced that it had selected John Walter, chairman and CEO of R.R. Donnelley & Sons, as the successor to Chairman and CEO Robert Allen, many observers were surprised. Even though Walter had successfully transformed R.R. Donnelley from a printer of yesteryear to the technologically advanced commercial printing company it is today, critics doubted his ability to push a communications giant like AT&T into the future. Unfortunately, according to some observers close to the AT&T situation, company politics stopped him from proving the critics wrong. In July 1997, just nine months after accepting the position of AT&T president, he resigned.

One year later, during an interview with DIRECTORS & BOARDS, Walter does not reflect upon AT&T negatively. He will only comment on his tenure at AT&T by saying that it is an "outstanding institution" with "a leading global brand." He calls the people of AT&T "bright, caring, enthusiastic" and specifies that they are "as interested in the well-being of the business as anyone I have ever seen."

What he does speak openly about are his directorship activities. He is currently on the boards of several diverse enterprises, including two Fortune 500 corporations, Abbott Laboratories and Deere & Co., and the Toronto-based Celestica Inc., a $2.6 billion provider of electronics manufacturing services. He was also a director of LaSalle Partners Inc., a real estate management firm which in October 1998 merged with Jones Lang Wootton, a London-based property consultancy. Walter will serve as a director of the new company, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a $900 million real estate investment company.

In July 1998 Walter joined the board of Prime Capital Corp., which has facilitated the financing of more than $1.6 billion of equipment for acquisition by its clients, which include medical centers and hospitals, Fortune 1000 corporations, and other major firms. It is based in Rosemont, Ill., not far from Walter's own Chicago-area residence.

(As this issue was going to press, it was announced that Walter joined the board of Manpower Inc., the provider of temporary staffing services.)

"Whether you serve on a board or put a board together, you gain invaluable experience" says Walter, when asked what he feels is his main contribution to this portfolio of boards. "Hopefully I can bring a little clarity to...