Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM, Earnings/Financials
Having just been appointed interim CEO at General Motors earlier this week, ex-AT&T man Ed Whitacre isn’t wasting any time in exercising his newfound authority. According to The Wall Street Journal, Whitacre is to announce a number of management changes this morning, including moving Vice Chairman Bob Lutz from his role in marketing to a more product planning-focused role. Whitacre is also expected to promote some of the company’s younger managers to new positions, although it has not yet been revealed who is targeted.
According to the WSJ, Whitacre “drew up the new management blueprint in a matter of four hours,” suggesting to us that he already had a number of changes in mind. Further, he is also expected to combine GM’s sales and marketing divisions
While Whitacre has only been on the job since Tuesday and he is technically only considered an interim appointment at this time, the search for a new CEO is thought likely to take months, if not a year. From the looks of things, Whitacre isn’t looking at himself as simply a placeholder, though, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see more changes as the weeks and months roll by.
*UPDATE: Changes confirmed: GM has issued a press release (viewable after the jump). Among the moves, Bob Lutz will be an ‘advisor’ on design and global product – he will retain his title of vice chairman. Other changes include Mark Reuss named as president of GM North America, Susan Docherty appointed VP, vehicle sales, service, and marketing operations. For a full list of changes, click past the jump for the release.
[Source: The Wall Street Journal I Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]
BREAKING: Whitacre to shakeup GM management, put Lutz in product planning [UPDATE: Confirmed] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.