Bert Roberts Succeeds McGowan at MCI

MCI Communications Corp. said Tuesday that President and Chief Executive Bert Roberts will succeed its late co-founder, William McGowan, as chairman.

Roberts, 49, became chief executive of the nation’s second-largest long-distance telephone company in December when he assumed day-to-day responsibility for MCI’s operations.

After joining the company in 1972, Roberts held a number of senior management positions and became president and chief operating officer in 1985.

MCI’s current chief operating officer, Daniel Akerson, was named as a replacement for Roberts in the president’s slot.

Akerson, who became chief operating officer in April, joined MCI in 1983. He has also served as executive vice president, group executive and chief financial officer.

McGowan, who died of a heart attack June 8 at age 64, co-founded the telecommunications giant in 1968 with Jack Goeken. He was credited with breaking American Telephone & Telegraph Co.’s century-old monopoly and revolutionizing the telephone industry.