GM Announces The Resignation Of GM President & CEO Fritz Henderson, Replaced By Edward E. Whitacre Jr.

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Ryan in 2000-2009

Photo Credit: Saab History

At the recent GM Press Conference, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. announced that he would replace President & CEO Fritz Henderson who has just resigned. There is no indication that Fritz Henderson or Edward Whitacre will continue to be part of the 13-member GM board at this time.

The Saab community in the United States will remember hearing from Fritz Henderson back at the 2007 Saab Owners Convention where he spoke to us at the GM Heritage Center for dinner that he was a Saab guy and even his Wife was a Saab enthusiast.

There was no other new Saab news at all other than the resignation announcement other than the confirmation of what we already saw in the press statement earlier.

* Confirms outreach from several interested parties for Saab, but would not indicate which ones or how many

* Confirmed, if no viable buyer comes, closure of Saab would pursued at end of December

Here is a good piece from the Washington Post followed by GM’s statement on the resignation of Fritz Henderson.

GM’s Henderson Steps Down as CEO

General Motors chief executive Fritz Henderson, who took over the troubled automaker during its government-backed bankruptcy after former chief executive Rick Wagoner resigned at the urging of the White House, has stepped down, the company announced this afternoon.

Henderson will be replaced on a temporary basis by GM chairman Ed Whitacre, who became chairman in June, famously saying, “I don’t know anything about cars.” Whitacre is the former chief executive of AT&T.

Interestingly, it was Whiteacre, not Henderson, who appeared in the most recent GM television commercials.

– Frank Ahrens

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GM Statement Attributed to To Chairman Ed Whitacre

At its monthly meeting in Detroit today, the General Motors Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Fritz Henderson as Director, President and CEO of the company.

Fritz has done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change. While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made. To this end, I have taken over the role of Chairman and CEO while an international search for a new president and CEO begins immediately. With these new duties, I will begin working in the Renaissance Center headquarters on a daily basis. The leadership team – many who are with me today – are united and committed to the task at hand.

I want to assure all of our employees, dealers, suppliers, union partners and most of all, our customers, that GM’s daily business operations will continue as normal. I remain more convinced than ever that our company is on the right path and that we will continue to be a leader in offering the worldwide buying public the highest quality, highest value cars and trucks. We now need to accelerate our progress toward that goal, which will also mean a return to profitability and repaying the American and Canadian tax payers as soon as possible.

In closing, I want to once again thank Fritz Henderson for his years of leadership and service to General Motors; we’re grateful for his many contributions. I look forward to working with the entire GM team as we now begin the next chapter of this great company.

Tags: Automotive Component Group, CEO, Chairman, Director , President and CEO, Ed Whitacre, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., Edward Whitacre, Frank Ahrens, Fritz Henderson, leader, Rick Wagoner