Atlanta ? William Webster, the former FBI and CIA director who resigned in November from a board overseeing the accounting industry, has been chosen to decide a dispute between telephone companies BellSouth and Sprint over a top executive.

Lawyers for both companies agreed to the selection, which was confirmed Wednesday, BellSouth spokesman Jeff Battcher said.

At issue is the fate of BellSouth vice chairman Gary Forsee, who wants to leave the Atlanta-based company to replace William Esrey as chief executive of Overland Park-based Sprint.

BellSouth went to court last month to stop Forsee from taking Esrey’s job, citing concerns that he could disclose key information about BellSouth’s business. BellSouth wants Forsee to honor a noncompete clause in his contract that prevents him from taking a job at a rival company for 18 months.

Last week, a judge in Atlanta extended a restraining order that temporarily bars Forsee from joining Sprint. The judge also ordered the two companies to complete arbitration over Forsee’s contract within 30 days.

The fight has centered on what Forsee knows.

In a recently filed court affidavit, Rex Adams, president of BellSouth’s long distance unit, said that on Dec. 19 he provided a detailed analysis of the company’s customers and markets to a group of executives, including Forsee.

Adams said he talked about BellSouth’s strategy for 2003, particularly about how the company would deal with “churning,” which is the industry term for customers switching from one long distance carrier to another.

Adams said he elaborated on BellSouth’s strategy during a meeting with Forsee and other managers Jan. 28. The next day, court documents say, Forsee met with Cingular officials to discuss new products and related strategy. Shortly thereafter, he informed chief executive Duane Ackerman about his interest in the Sprint job.

Battcher said the arbitration meetings are expected to start soon, and a decision is due by March 12.