Give 'em Hell: Whitacre made permanent General Motors CEO

Edward E. Whitacre, Jr (Courtesy: General Motors)

In a move that surprised few, General Motors announced that Edward E. Whitacre, Jr., has agreed to continue as chairman and CEO of the company.

Whitacre is certainly no shrinking violet and has been very vocal since joining the company, becoming the star of commercials that helped to relaunch the company after bankruptcy and stacking the General's management ranks with his own appointees.

This isn't General Motors' first encounter with a strong willed Texan, many might recall the company's infamous showdown with Ross Perot back in the 1980s.

In a statement to the press, Whitacre stated,

The board of directors asked if I would be willing to stay on at GM and help continue the company's road back to success.  Having spent the past few months learning the business, meeting with our employees, customers and dealers, and working with the GM leadership team, I was both honored and pleased to accept this role. This is a great company with an even greater future, and I want to be part of it.

 Although General Motors had retained an executive search firm to help find a permanent CEO, it is unclear how much consideration was truly given to anyone other than Whitacre with the New York Times reporting that the search firm never presented a list of candidates to the board.

The "Given 'em Hell" phrase used in the title of this article was rumored to be have been said by Whitacre to his hand picked replacement, Randall Stephenson, as CEO of AT&T.

 

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