GM's New Chairman Turned Interim CEO, Shows How to Take Charge

Ed Whitacre, GM’s chairman and now interim CEO, appears to be in the mold of Lee Iaccoca who took charge of Chrysler back when the government saved it the first time around. While Whitacre, a former head of AT&T, is no car guy like Iaccoca, he has quickly taken charge of the firm and instituted a number quick and major changes. He has already made a number of major changes in management, he has also been taking great strides to build up employee morale throughout the company. Automobile workers are beginning to get the sense there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. Today’s New York Times has a story by Bill Vlasic entitled, In the Changeover at G.M., a New Hands-on Attitude. Vlasic writes,

In his new role as chief executive of G.M. as well as chairman, a post he has held since July, Mr. Whitacre is focusing on shaking up the automaker’s famously bureaucratic culture by singling out individuals and giving them both the responsibility and authority to make things happen.

“The only place there was any really solid accountability here was right at the top,” said Mr. Whitacre, 68, delivering his blunt assessment of the corporate culture at G.M. in his soft-spoken Texas drawl.

“I want to make sure people understand that the responsibility for this company to be successful is not just with the C.E.O.,” he said. “It’s them.”

“My style is really just to say, ‘let’s get going,’ ” he added. “Let’s do something, let’s move, and let’s not be constrained by something that has happened in the past. Nobody is going to be fired for trying something new around here.”

Whitacre is showing CEOs around the country possible ways to make changes at companies faced with inertia and growing problems. His management style may have some inherent risks and his lack of automobile related expertise is a potential problem but he has shown what a strong and savvy CEO can do in a little amount of time. Stay tuned.

Speculation is Growing on Possible GM CEO Candidates

Now that Ed Whitacre, GM’s chairman, has taken over as interim CEO and is moving at sprint speed to get GM back on track, speculation is beginning to arise on possible candidates to fill the CEO position. It was made public yesterday that Spencer Stuart, the executive search firm, will he handling the CEO search for GM. While a number of analysts think Whitacre as interim CEO might actually end up with the job, Randolph Gulian, evp/general manager for recruitment process outsourcing and executive search for Allegris RPO, in an interview with the Deal.com has come up with a number of very unusual but possible candidates. During the interview, Gulian mentioned Mark Hurd, HP’s CEO and General Electric’s John Rice. While neither of these men may actually be candidates the possibility of someone big from outside the automobile industry may just be the way to go. Check out the entire interview, Gulian seems to be on to something.

GM Update: It's official - Henderson out, Time Magazine's Alex Taylor III Explains Why

Alex Taylor III wrote a brief story for Time on GM’s surprise announcement that Fritz Henderson was out as GM’s CEO and Ed Whitacre, GM’s chairman would serve as interim CEO until replacement is found. Taylor was right on the mark in his explanation. IN the story he wrote,

Henderson will be remembered as being as smart and experienced as any GM CEO, but he appeared tone-deaf when it came to listening to Whitacre and the rest of his board of directors. Since he had no role in picking them and they owed him nothing, that proved to be a fatal mistake.

When the board made it clear that it wanted Henderson to replace chief financial officer Ray Young, Henderson dawdled. He could rightly complain that government curbs on executive pay made it difficult to recruit experienced financial executives, but it must have looked to the board as if he couldn’t make a decision or was simply stalling.

Check it out, it’s worth the read.

For a bit more read:

Slate

Not Official - Fritz Henderson, GM's CEO to Resign

The internet is abuzz with rumors that Frederick “Fritz” Henderson, GM’s CEO who took the reins after GM’s longtime CEO Rick Wagoner was forced out, is about to resign. The rumor is yet to be confirmed but appears quite plausible. According to CTV News Chairman Ed Whitacre, Jr. will serve as the interim CEO until a replacement is found for Henderson. Let’s hope GM selects someone innovative and ready to go. While Henderson was a vast improvement over Wagoner he has still not shown the kind of leadership necessary to take the new company out of the abyss.

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.

Recommended Reading - On Whitacre Taking on GM, Footnoted.org

Michelle Leder of Footnoted.org has done it again. Today she has an interesting take on Ed Whitacre, former AT&T CEO & chairman and soon to be chairman of the new GM. Always informative, check out Michelle’s latest blog.