George S. May Business Blog

Whitacre one week in, already making staff moves

Well, it didn’t take long for newly appointed General Motors CEO, Ed Whitacre, to flex his muscles. Reports come from the Wall Street Journal that the ex-AT&T man is already shaking things up over at GM. Allegedly, Whitacre is set to announce a multitude of management changes in the morning. Probably the most noteworthy change expected is moving Vice Chairman Bob Lutz from marketing to a focus on product planning. Rumor is that a number of young managers will be promoted as well.

The WSJ said that Whitacre “drew up the new management blueprint in a matter of four hours”.

Translation: Whitacre already had an ageda prior to Tuesday, (his first day on the job). Another expectation is that GM will combine it’s sales and marketing divisions. Technocally speaking, Whitacre is the interim CEO, but apparently Ed doesn’t feel that way.

*UPDATE (from autoblog.com): Changes confirmed: GM has issued a press release (viewable after the jump). Among the moves, Bob Lutz will be an ‘advisor’ on design and global product – he will retain his title of vice chairman. Other changes include Mark Reuss named as president of GM North America, Susan Docherty appointed VP, vehicle sales, service, and marketing operations. For a full list of changes, click past the jump for the release.

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