Filed under: Etc., Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM
Another round of CEO Musical Chairs is being played at General Motors.
When Daniel F. Akerson officially begins his tenure as GM’s chief executive officer on September 1st, he will be the fourth person to sit in that chair in less than two years. Rick Wagoner stepped down from the position at the request of the United States government and was replaced by Fritz Henderson, who then resigned in December of 2009. Ed Whitacre took the reigns in early 2010, and now Akerson will replace him as both CEO and chairman of the board by year’s end.
But who is Dan Akerson? After all, most of us had never heard his name before this big announcement, and he must be awfully qualified if he’s been offered the top-ranking position at one of the world’s largest automakers.
Akerson, 61, has been a member of GM’s board of directors since July of 2009 where he worked closely with Whitacre. In addition, he currently serves as managing director for the Carlyle Group, a United States buyout firm, and is one of the directors at American Express.
GM picked a successor for Whitacre who has had plenty of experience with business management. Akerson is the former CEO of Nextel Communications, a wireless carrier now owned by Sprint, as well as a former CEO of telecom services provider XO Communications.
He was also appointed to GM’s board of directors after the company emerged from bankruptcy reorganization last year. He may not be much of a car guy by our definition, but in terms of someone capable of running a major corporation, both Whitacre and the rest of the GM board of directors are confident that Akerson will use his years of experience to continue to reshape GM during this crucial time of restructuring. Godspeed, Dan.
[Source: General Motors, The Wall Street Journal]
Continue reading Introducing Dan Akerson, the next Chairman and CEO of General Motors
Introducing Dan Akerson, the next Chairman and CEO of General Motors originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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