GM's Whitacre Strives to Create Stability
DETROIT - General Motors Co. Chairman Ed Whitacre said his appointment to lead the automaker indefinitely as CEO will help provide stability to a team that's now “set at the top,” reported Automotive News.
Whitacre overhauled GM's top executive structure when he took over as interim CEO in December. Among the changes: naming Mark Reuss president of GM North America and Susan Docherty chief of U.S. sales. Today, the company removed “interim” from Whitacre's title.
Whitacre, 68, said he feels no need to make more immediate changes, although most of his lieutenants are GM lifers.
Some middle management may need rearranging, he said, but the overall goal is to reduce turmoil.
“This place needs some stability,” Whitacre said in announcing his expanded role during a press conference. “I guess that's me.”
The appointment cements the Detroit 3 as a group run by outsiders. Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co.'s CEO since 2006, is a former Boeing Co. executive. Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler Group's CEO, is an accountant and lawyer who took command of Fiat S.p.A. in 2004.
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