Two at Pactel Keep Vows to Retire Early

Pacific Telesis’ top two executives--Donald E. Guinn and Theodore J. Saenger--have remained true to vows they each made years ago to retire early.

Guinn, 54, said Tuesday that he will step down as chairman and chief executive of the holding company sometime next year. And Saenger, 59, said he will retire at the end of this year as president and CEO of Pacific Bell, the company’s principal operating company.

Pacific Telesis’ directors picked Sam Ginn, 50, to fill the newly created posts of president and chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1. That will allow Guinn to relinquish some of the responsibility he has held since creation of the holding company at the time of the breakup of the Bell System in 1984. Four years before that, when Guinn was named to head the old Pacific Telephone, he had voiced his intention of retiring at age 55.

Ginn had been president and CEO of PacTel Corp., which includes a growing string of unregulated enterprises ranging from computer services to directory publishing and real estate. His successor will be C. Lee Cox, 46, Pacific Bell’s executive vice president for marketing.

Saenger’s retirement plans were no more unexpected than Guinn’s. “It has long been my plan to retire at the completion of a decade as president,” he recalled. His retirement will end more than 35 years in the telecommunications industry.

Saenger will be succeeded by Philip J. Quigley, 45, currently executive vice president and chief operating officer of PacTel Corp. Quigley, in turn, will be replaced by Thomas G. Cross, 46, Pacific Telesis Group’s vice president and treasurer.

In addition, Benton W. Dial, 58, executive vice president for human resources, said he plans to retire at year’s end. His successor will be Jim R. Moberg, 51, Pacific Bell’s vice president for operations in the Bay Area. William E. Downing, 47, vice president for corporate strategy, will replace Moberg, who in turn will be succeeded by Robert C. Blanz, 55, former president of Denver-based Mountain Bell.

The moves clearly make Sam Ginn the heir apparent to succeed Guinn. A former executive with American Telephone & Telegraph, Ginn joined Pacific Telephone in 1978 as a vice president in Los Angeles. He has handled both technological and managerial assignments, including executive vice president, vice chairman and CEO.