Whitacre Vows to ‘Learn About Cars’ as GM Chairman

xavierx · Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 5427

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aQ._YJhEj_Jo

Quote:

Edward E. Whitacre Jr. built AT&T Inc. into the biggest U.S. provider of telephone service over a 43-year-career. By his own admission, he becomes chairman of General Motors Corp. knowing nothing about the auto industry.

The 6-foot-4-inch Texan nicknamed “Big Ed” said steering the nation’s largest automaker after bankruptcy is “a public service.” People who know him say he can meet GM’s need for the type of transformation he orchestrated at Dallas-based AT&T.

“I don’t know anything about cars,” Whitacre, 67, said yesterday in an interview after his appointment. “A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m not that old, and I think the business principles are the same.”
...

That's great. We have a President with no executive experience, and look how well that's worked out. Now the same guy picks a GM chairman with no car experience. What could possibly go wrong?

tony7914 · Joined: Dec 24, 2004 Posts: 4965 Location: Peru Indiana

xavierx wrote:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aQ._YJhEj_Jo

Quote:

Edward E. Whitacre Jr. built AT&T Inc. into the biggest U.S. provider of telephone service over a 43-year-career. By his own admission, he becomes chairman of General Motors Corp. knowing nothing about the auto industry.

The 6-foot-4-inch Texan nicknamed “Big Ed” said steering the nation’s largest automaker after bankruptcy is “a public service.” People who know him say he can meet GM’s need for the type of transformation he orchestrated at Dallas-based AT&T.

“I don’t know anything about cars,” Whitacre, 67, said yesterday in an interview after his appointment. “A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I’m not that old, and I think the business principles are the same.”
...

That's great. We have a President with no executive experience, and look how well that's worked out. Now the same guy picks a GM chairman with no car experience. What could possibly go wrong?

There is a difference between running a service based business and an auto manufacturing business, hopefully this guy will get some advice from Toyota, Honda, or Ford and get rid of much of the dead weight GM still has on board, he's got a lot of stuff to fix and undo and no experience turning a car company around.