Ed Whitacre Named As Permanent GM CEO

There is nothing permanent at General Motors especially when it comes to the position of chief executive officer.

This past December Ed Whitacre Jr. was named as temporary CEO, replacing Fritz Henderson who took over from Rick Wagoner earlier in the year. When Whitacre assumed his duties GM immediately launched a search for the company’s next CEO, but they did not have to look very far: GM will be announcing today that Ed will assume this position permanently.

Whitacre Formalizes Control

According to The Wall Street Journal, Whitacre will announce at a news conference today that he is the company’s CEO. That conference was initially scheduled to apprise the public of GM’s progress post bankruptcy, but will now include details about Whitacre’s ascendancy. Whitacre recently appointed a new chief financial officer, Chris Liddell, who was formerly CFO at Microsoft Corporation, demonstrating his influence over the automaker.

Whitacre seems to be a natural for the position although last year he stirred up some controversy when he said, “I don’t know anything about cars.” Before assuming his position at GM as chairman last June, Whitacre had a lengthy track record in the phone industry, having worked for Southwestern Bell (SBC), Cingular, and AT&T before retiring in 2007.

Opel Decision Reversed

However, the 68 year old Texan has been perceived by some as being the necessary outsider who can shake up GM, a company dominated by insiders, many of whom have been blamed for contributing to the automaker’s sorry financial state which led to a colossal bail out and bankruptcy restructuring. Whitacre’s influence was made evident when he went over Henderson’s head last fall by reversing GM’s decision to sell Opel, a move that also alienated some in Europe.

Still, Opel is widely seen as being critical to GM’s small car future, as the brand has designed several important models including the soon to be released Chevrolet Cruze and the Buick Regal. Whitacre has been working behind the scenes to make peace with GM’s European operation which also includes Chevrolet, Vauxhall, and Saab.

Whitacre was installed as board chairman by the Obama administration to safeguard taxpayer interest in the company which includes some $50 billion in loans. Canada and Ontario also have a stake in GM whose stock is now considered to be worthless.

Saab Sale Near?

In related news, Dutch exotic supercar manufacturer Spyker Cars NV is expected to announce that it has come to terms with GM to purchase Saab Automobile AB according to USA Today. Spyker’s quest to buy Saab has been an on again off again process with GM threatening to abandon Saab if no deal is forthcoming.