Walter B. McCormick Jr. is leaving his post as president and CEO of American Trucking Associations to become president and CEO of the United States Telecom Assn.

Several top ATA staffers will accompany McCormick to USTA. A source who did not want to be identified named Executive Vice President Regina Blakely, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer David Barefoot and vice president of strategic and litigation communications Tom Amontree.
ATA Chairman Duane Acklie, chairman of Crete Carrier Corp., Lincoln, Neb., said he has asked the ATA Management Committee to lead the search for McCormick’s replacement. He said he expects the committee will engage a search firm to manage the process, and that he hopes to complete the search by Oct. 1, in order to have a new president in place before the ATA Management Conference at the end of October.
After McCormick’s departure on July 1, ATA will be run by interim President William Canary, the current Senior Vice President for State and Intergovernmental Affairs.
The search will include candidates from inside and outside ATA, but Canary has said he does not wish to be considered for the post, Acklie said.
The last leadership transition at ATA, from Thomas J. Donohue to McCormick in 1998, included an in-depth analysis of ATA’s organization and purpose that lead to an extensive restructuring and downsizing. Acklie said he does not expect the Management Committee to revisit that analysis.
In his opinion, he said, there is no need for wholesale changes at ATA.
“We are looking for leadership, respect and best-in-class advocacy,” Acklie said. “We are looking for the very same qualities we would want to hire to run one of our companies.”
Looking back on McCormick’s tenure, Acklie noted several accomplishments: strong advocacy, fiscal stability while cutting dues, and noteworthy achievements such as slowing hours-of-service reforms and banning ergonomics regulations.
“These victories brought a belief that with grassroots support we can get our message across,” he said.
Looking ahead, Acklie said he anticipates business as usual at ATA: “We will go straight forward. Our advocacy will continue and we will keep moving on all issues.”
In a statement, McCormick described the USTA job as an “extraordinary opportunity . . . that offers me the potential for significant personal and professional growth.”
The USTA represents the four “Baby Bell” telephone operating companies, as well as about 1,200 local phone companies. McCormick has a background in telecommunications law and policy as an attorney with Bryan, Cave in Washington, D.C., and as a senior Republican staffer on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Besides Acklie, the ATA Management Committee consists of Lee Shaffer, president and CEO of Kenan Transport Co.; David McCorkle, chairman of McCorkle Truck Line; Vernon Garner, president and CEO of Garner Transportation Group; Fred Burns, president of Burns Motor Freight; Gerald Detter, president and CEO of Con-Way Transportation Services; Steven Williams, president and CEO of Maverick Transportation; and William Zollars, chairman, president and CEO of Yellow Corp.