GM’s new CEO Whitacre: Uncompromising
“When Ed Whitacre decides, it’s not negotiable. If he decides against you, you’re done.”
–Coca-Cola (KO) exec Wendy Clark, about General Motors’ (GM) new CEO, whom she worked for when he headed AT&T (ATT). Today, the GM board ousted CEO Fritz Henderson, who was in the post just eight months, and installed Whitacre, GM’s chairman, as the new chief executive.
No doubt, Whitacre had a key role in the power shift.
And hearing Clark talk about the man, you understand that anyone working under him is on a short leash. Clark, a rising star who is SVP of Integrated Marketing and Communications at Coke and previously headed marketing for Whitacre at AT&T, spoke about his unusual leadership style last month at a Fortune Most Powerful Women dinner event in Atlanta. “He doesn’t talk much. He listens intently. He surrounds himself with experts who know everything,” Clark said. She calls Whitacre “the greatest mentor” she’s ever had.
Her view of Whitacre at GM? “If Ed can’t fix it, no one can fix it,” she says.–Patricia Sellers
Seems like the folks at GM just forgot what makes a desirable car a desirable car. One of the things that made Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes so reknowned is the fact that they are run by folks with a love for cars and a knowledge of what makes them great at their core, not golf-set old stuffed shirts with more eyes on their perk packages than on the test track or the design room. It has been proven time and time again, soapboxers, beancounters and mad men do not make great cars, car people do.
More of the same, they guy has been only days on the jobs and Fortune is heralding what a bold person he is,,,please!!! and ATT was his master art?? wow!!! poor GM, this might be the last nail on GMs coffin!!!!
To Mike in Beverly Hills,
I assume when you speak of Japanese you talk about Toyota only, because Honda and Nissan are handily beat by GM in sales numbers.
Does GM not outsell Toyota? Toyota really has one mid-tier brand, GM had three (Pontiac, Saturn and Chevrolet). A Malibu might not outsell a Camry, but does a G6, Aura and Malibu outsell a Camry? It’s hard to make an argument that it doesn’t come competitively close when you don’t compare car to car but platform to platform.
It’ll be interesting to see the future of GM with fewer brands and the loss of the development tax of rebadging.
If he can’t fix it, then nobody can?
And you hold-up 17 years at AT&T as a testimony to his abilities?
OMG, give me a break!
With the billions (that’s right billions!!!) spent on rescuing this “private” company between bailouts and Cash4Clunkers, they still can’t produce a vehicle that will outsell the Japanese. Maybe they should realize that Americans need jobs before they can buy cars. The last batch of overpriced cars they brought off the assembly line just got repossessed (see: http://www.repofinder.com) from unemployed Americans. I’d rather push a Toyota than drive a GM.
The US, state and local Govt. may be the only buyers of the “New GM” and its products!
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Patricia Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Can Meg Whitman Save California?", Melinda Gates ("The $100 Billion Woman"), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). And she has broken ground with insightful pieces on career management issues such as ego ("Get Over Yourself!"), and "Charisma: Do You Need It? Can You Get It?" Pattie chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. And she has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business" cover package since its launch in 1998. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big consumer brand companies.
California folks and others who have slammed a man who just took over as CEO @ GM. I think Mercedes are hype and when those warranties expire hope you don’t mind seeing the masked bandits robbing you over and over on repairs. I would drive a Lexus or a Cadillac anyday over the BMW or Mercedes. And just remember all the history of AT&T, the break up and who was there that brought it all back together! I personally believe that Mr Whitacre will make a difference. And OMG maybe he could be your Mentor, but maybe not you would have to be able to recognize all oh his accomplishments.