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] 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.