It's official Rick Wagoner has stepped down from his post as the CEO of GM.
As a request from the government, Wagoner is going to be replaced by Fritz Henderson immediately. The Obama administration requested Wagoner's departure as part of the rescue plan. Wagoner was named president and CEO in 2000, and assumed the role of chairman in 2003.
Fritz Henderson will assume the role immediately. He was previously vice chairman and chief financial officer.
GM Message from Rick Wagoner
On Friday I was in Washington for a meeting with Administration officials. In the course of that meeting, they requested that I "step aside" as CEO of GM, and so I have.
Fritz Henderson is an excellent choice to be the next CEO of GM. Having worked closely with Fritz for many years, I know that he is the ideal person to lead the company through the completion of our restructuring efforts. His knowledge of the global industry and the company are exceptional, and he has the intellect, energy, and support among GM'ers worldwide to succeed. I wish him well, and I stand ready to support him, and interim Non-Executive Chairman Kent Kresa, in every way possible.
I also want to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone who supported GM and me during my time as CEO. I deeply appreciate the excellent counsel and commitment of the GM Board and the strong support of our many partners including our terrific dealers, suppliers, and community leaders. I am grateful as well to the union leaders with whom I have had the chance to work closely to implement numerous tough but necessary restructuring agreements.
Most important of all I want to express my deepest appreciation to the extraordinary team of GM employees around the world. You have been a tremendous source of inspiration and pride to me, and I will be forever grateful for the courage and commitment you have shown as we have confronted the unprecedented challenges of the past few years. GM is a great company with a storied history. Ignore the doubters because I know it is also a company with a great future.
GM Statement on Officer and Board Announcements
-GM is announcing the following changes in the corporate officers and the board of directors:
-Rick Wagoner is stepping down as chairman and CEO, effective immediately. Wagoner, 56, was named president and CEO in 2000, and assumed the role of chairman in 2003.
-Fritz Henderson, GM president and chief operating officer, will serve as CEO. Henderson, 50, was named to his current position in 2008. He was previously vice chairman and chief financial officer.
-Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus, Northrop Grumman Corporation, has been named interim non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Kresa became a GM director in 2003
-GM is awaiting further announcements by the President and the Task Force on Automotive Reconstruction, and we will have additional comments at that time.
GM Board of Directors statement, attributable to Kent Kresa, Chairman
"The Board has recognized for some time that the Company's restructuring will likely cause a significant change in the stockholders of the Company and create the need for new directors with additional skills and experience. The Board intends to work to nominate a slate of directors for the next annual meeting that will include a majority of new directors taking into account the addition of new directors, retirement, and decisions by individual directors not to stand for re-election, although the specific individuals who will be nominated or choose not to run or leave the board are not yet known."
Comments (5)
Sad that it took the President of the United States to force GM corporation to change leadership. What were Obama's choices? To invest (bail) the automotive industry out and keep a major industry alive -OR- let a major industry fail and sour the economy seriously - perhaps pernamently. Arguments are on both sides, but I'd rather not dismantle (ruin) an entire industry if it can be saved. "IF" that is.
My question is; why didn't the Board or Directors and the share holders do their job and kick out the CEO's?
Posted by sparky | March 30, 2009 11:54 AM
Posted on March 30, 2009 11:54
Important update: Fritz Henderson assumed the role. Rick Wagoner assumed the position.
Posted by Kawi | March 30, 2009 1:42 PM
Posted on March 30, 2009 13:42
I have no love for GM's leadership but compared with Obama's team they look pretty good. They don't even understand economics even on the grade school level based on their actions.
You can't borrow your way out of debt, Obama!
Posted by RX-7 Guy | March 30, 2009 3:26 PM
Posted on March 30, 2009 15:26
EX7, you and many non economic people don't get that the rules are not the same for individuals and countries. You can't borrow your way out of debt. A country has to.
The administration is doing what it can _(which isn't much) in light of the crap it was handed over. 8 years ago, the US economy was in good shape, with a surplus and inertion that survived 8 years of stupid ideological blunders which should never be allowed into economic decisions making.
Did you notice how Wagooner thanks everyone and says ignore the doubters. The prick did not thank the tax payers and government who are paying for his retarded decisions and how can you say ignore the doubters if they are the ones paying for mistakes. If GM would be weathering the storm greatly like Audi for instance, THEN he could say stuff like that. After pleading with the government for a bailout and not providing a plan worth a damn, he says idiotic stufff like that. Arrogant pricks like that ruined the economy.
Did you see Hank Paulson's face during the last weeks of his term? That was one clueless and scared bastard. They had no clue how much they f.. up.
Every Nobel prize winner now has a different opinion about how to go about solving this crap. So give the government some credit. If someone threw you into manure, you would stink also.
Posted by Diesel | March 31, 2009 12:12 AM
Posted on March 31, 2009 00:12
It always tweaks me when someone rails off about how a president has either ruined or saved out economy...
Clinton did shit for this country yet is praised for his economic policies. It doesn't hurt that the tech sector was super hot, and the dot com bubble was growing.
Bush gets pissed on cause that bubble exploded.... (Not saying certain groups didn't facilitate the over growth and ultimate failure of the housing market, but...)
And RX-7 is right, NO ONE buys their way out of debt when they don't have the resources to pay for it.
We are using the Wimpy excuse, "Buy me a hamburger and I'll gladly pay you next Tuesday." The was the government is trying to solve this mess is akin to trying to fix a hole in a water hose with tape. When ultimately the problem is the water dripping on the floor, not the water coming out the other side. Just turn the damn thing off....it's a whole lot easier.
Perhaps the government should look at ways of keeping jobs here, teaching business leaders that there is more to running a company than the happiness of your shareholders (and price of your stock), and that a business is not suppose to be a gravy train...
Fixing the initial cause of these situations is far more important to me than injecting them with capital (aka GM). If Rick Wagoner would let Chevy put a POS Korean 1.6L in ANY car then he deserves to be driven out of the company. Any self respecting gear head could look at that engine and say it wouldn't last.
When the captain of the ship has no idea what a boat, water, or a map are....the crew is in for a rough ride.
Posted by Brian | March 31, 2009 1:31 AM
Posted on March 31, 2009 01:31