W. Frank Blount

W. Frank Blount AM
Blount circa 1982
Born	William Frank Blount (1938-07-26) July 26, 1938 (age 86) Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Education	Georgia Tech (BS) Georgia State University (MBA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SM)
Occupation	Businessman

William Frank Blount, AM (born July 26, 1938) is an American businessman, and currently the chairman and CEO of venture capital firm JI Ventures, Inc. Blount previously served as chairman and CEO of Cypress Communications Inc., and director and CEO of Telstra Corporation Limited in Australia.

Early life and education

Blount received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1961, an M.B.A. from Georgia State University in 1969, and a SM (master's degree) in Management Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1971.^[1]

Career

From 1993 to 1999 Blount served as Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Corporation in Australia. He was previously Group President of AT&T Corp. On June 9, 1999 he was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), "for service to business, particularly as the Chief Executive Officer of Telstra".^[2]

In 1999, Blount became affiliated with The Jordan Company, L.P., a private investment firm that specializes in buying and building businesses in partnership with management. ^{[citation needed]}

Blount currently serves as a director of Caterpillar Inc., Entergy Corporation, Hanson plc, ADTRAN and Alcatel-Lucent.^[3]

References

1. "Frank Blount". 2007 Alumni Awards Celebration. J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. Archived from the original on July 29, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
2. "It's an Honour". Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2011.
3. Fletcher, Paul (September 1, 2009). Wired Brown Land?: Telstra's Battle for Broadband. UNSW Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-74223-003-0. Retrieved August 10, 2010.