F. Duane Ackerman, the former chairman/CEO of BellSouth, today was named to the board of directors of UPS.
Ackerman, 65, will serve on the board until the next UPS annual shareowners meeting in May 2008, at which time he is expected to stand for election to a regular one-year term. After his appointment today, Ackerman was named to the Compensation Committee during a regularly scheduled Board meeting.
“The board looks for candidates with great business experience, leadership skills and exposure to technology and international business, plus an understanding of corporate governance issues in an age of Sarbanes-Oxley,” said Norman Black, director of global media services for UPS.
In other business, the board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 42 cents per share on all outstanding Class A and Class B shares. The dividend is payable Sept. 17, 2007, to shareholders of record on Sept. 10, 2007. UPS has either increased or maintained its dividend every year for more than three decades.
“T he dividend declaration is æregular’ this time in that it was not increased compared to last quarter,” Black explained. “UPS has paid a quarterly dividend to shareholders for decades, periodically increasing it over time. With this particular announcement, it means that for every share of stock a person holds, he or she will get a check for 42 cents , representing the dividend.”
Ackerman, a native of Plant City, FL, spent more than 40 years in the telecommunications industry before retiring in March following BellSouth’s merger with AT&T. Ackerman began his career in 1964 and, in 1992, was named president/CEO of BellSouth Telecommunications, BellSouth’s local telephone service unit and largest subsidiary. He was promoted to vice chairman and chief operating officer of the parent company on Jan. 1, 1995, then was elevated to the position of president and CEO of BellSouth on Jan. 1, 1997. A year later, he also became chairman.
Ackerman is a member of the board of directors of The Allstate Corp. and serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He is a trustee of Rollins College, and has served on the Board of Governors of the Society of Sloan Fellows of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
