GM Board of Directors Hearts CEO Rick Wagoner
"Despite GM's troubles, Mr. Fisher, a former Eastman Kodak Co. chairman, said the board supports Mr. Wagoner and believes GM has the 'best management team to get us through these difficult times,'" reports The Wall Street Journal [sub]. "He pointed to solid products and strong international growth as benchmarks of Mr. Wagoner's success." George Fisher retired as CEO of Eastman Kodak in 1999. From The New York Times on the eve of that auspicious occasion: "Q. There are those who view your tenure at Kodak as a terrible disappointment. Do you feel you've failed? A. Not at all. I remember telling Roberto it would take three years to get Kodak on track. He said it would take five, and O.K., it's taken closer to seven. But the fact is, I've accomplished everything I set out to do. I get angry when I get mail from people complaining about my performance, or when members of the press select the quotes they use to paint negative stories… Q. But you are losing $100 million a year in digital, and shareholders are clearly unimpressed. A. You call it losses, I call it investment." Back to the WSJ and GM: "Another GM board member, Kent Kresa, said in a phone conversation Tuesday night that GM 'management has a handle on the situation.'" Kresa was CEO of Northrop Grumman Corporation from 1990 to 2003. Kresa saved Northrop by merging it with Grumman, buying 15 other defense contractors and instituting ruthless cost-cutting. His faith in Wagoner's unspecified turnaround plan reflects Kresa's seat-of-the-pants, high stakes poker management style, and faith in political influence peddling. So now you know.
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George Fisher is a good match for GM as he pretty much ran Kodak into the ground during his tenure and if you ask him he thinks he did a good job. He is as clueless as GM's upper management. These people are delusional. They shrug off failure and reward it. Rick Wagoner has the board he wants a bunch of weak has beens that don't know the retail car business. The upcomeing shareholders meeting will bring forth the next five year plan of restructuring in an attempt to divert heat from upper management. Their excuse now is of course the economy and the loss of total unit sales for the whole industry. They don't want to talk about how they are declining at twice the rate of the industry.
Didn't RF previously speculate that GM's Board had taken on Clintonista Erskine "Irksome" Bowles to smooth things over (a bailout?) with a President Hillary ? If so, perhaps Obama or McCain have trusted associates who are currently between projects...
I heard Wagoner speak at a "green" conference in Cal. He did a great job considering Green and GM are really compatible. Plus, Cal. does not heart GM cars. Wagoner is quite intelligent and articulate then there is that mouth Lutz.