GM's New Chairman Takes His Responsibilities Seriously

GM’s new chairman, Ed Whitacre the former AT&T chairman and CEO, appears to be taking his news responsibilities seriously. According to a story by David Welch in BusinessWeek,

General Motors’ recently installed CEO, Frederick A. “Fritz” Henderson, has had just one board meeting with his new slate of directors. And already they are giving him pressure to show better results.

… (Henderson’s) first board meeting shows a stark contrast from GM’s old board. With a few exceptions, the previous directors showed a lot of patience with ousted Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. He racked up some $80 billion in losses since 2005 but kept solid backing. The old board also had to focus mostly on costs since the automaker has been in nearly constant restructuring mode for years.

… At the meeting, new Chairman Ed Whitacre, who had previously been chairman and CEO of AT&T (T), and several other directors pressed Henderson on how the company would build revenue, strengthen its brands, and communicate the message that its new products are competitive. “All of their questions were on revenue,” Henderson said, adding that they asked, “What are your metrics? How will you hold yourself accountable?”

While the government has been constantly under criticism for getting involved in the auto industry’s affairs and bailing them out so far, it has demonstrated far more moxy in relation to management than previous shareholders. Let’s hope the new board can really get some results out of GM’s new CEO, Fritz Henderson and his management team. Stay tuned.

It's Official, Richard Parsons to Be Citigroup Chairman

The rumors are over, Richard Parsons, the former chairman of Time Warner, will be Citigroup’s Chairman effective February 24.  According to The New York Times Bischoff said,

he would not stand for re-election and would retire later this year.    

The Times went on to say,

Regulators have pressed the struggling financial giant to shake up its board and replace Mr. Bischoff in an effort to regain investors’ trust. Staggered by losses, Citigroup has sought two financial lifelines from Washington. 

The issue gained new urgency last week, when Citigroup announced a drastic plan to split itself in two, effectively undoing the landmark merger that formed the company a decade ago. 

Be sure there is more management turmoil to come and the possibility of nationalization remains an option open to the new government. Let’s wait and see if real change can come under Parsons.

For more:

Crains   

Times online  

Telegraph UK  

Financial Times  

Hollywood Reporter     

It's Official, Sir Philip Hampton To Be RBS Chairman

Earlier today the BBC reported that Sir Philip Hampton has agreed to take the chairmanship of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).  Sir Philip, who is currently the chairman of Sainsbury, will replace the current chairman Sir Tom Mckillop, who has announced his resignation.  Sir Tom’s resignation comes after the bank has undergone a series of financial difficulties and top management related changes.  As a result of the financial crisis RBS has already been partially nationalized by the UK government. Earlier this week we ran a blog discussing the possibility that Sir Philip might take the RBS Chairmanship.   

For more: 

Reuters  

Bloomberg

Edinburgh Evening News

Times Online

RBS Appears Ready to Appoint Sir Philip Hampton As Chairman

Deal Journal today cites a story in the UK’s Independent Sir Philip Hampton the current chair of the J Sainsbury Supermarket chain is likely to be selected as the Royal bank of Scotland’s (RBS) new chairman.  RBS remains one of the UK’s biggest Banks suffering under the credit crisis.  RBS’s recent CEO change was examined in a previous blog.  RBS is now basically controlled by the UK government.  According to the Independent,

If Sir Philip does accept the role, he will be taking on one of the toughest jobs in the international banking sector, as the Government-controlled RBS tries to navigate its way through a vast pile of toxic loans. 

RBS has been among the biggest British banking casualties of the global financial crisis. It raised £12bn from its shareholders in the first half of last year, before accepting a further £20bn of taxpayers’ money last autumn in an attempt to stave off collapse. There are concerns in the City that a significant further deterioration in the quality of its assets could lead to the bank being wholly nationalised.   

Management change seems to be following a similar pattern in the banking industry as circumstances continue to deteriorate more and more board are reluctantly looking for changes at the top.   There remains a need for more and more changes in the boards as well.  Keep a close eye on what actually transpires at RBS over the next week or two. 

For more:  

Reuters  

Financial Times