Fritz Henderson

Sunoco has tapped Fritz Henderson to lead its energy spinoff that it is forming early next year. The 52 year old former GM CEO will be joining the Pittsburgh-based company as a SVP and will help the company prepare for when SunCoke Energy splits from the company”s core business. After all is said and done, Henderson will be chairman and CEO of the company”s metallurgical coke manufacturing operations.

The company has operations in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and produces Coke; a substance made by baking coal at extremely high temperatures to fuse together carbon and ash, and is a key ingredient in the manufacture of steel. The company provides coke for steel producers in the U.S. and Brazil.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

It doesn’t seem like Fritz Henderson is feeling the pain of being ousted by Chairman and new CEO Edward Whitacre. The ex-CEO of General Motors was recently rehired by the company as consultant on a month-to-month basis at a rate of $59,090 to assist the automaker with international operations.

Henderson has now earned a second consultant job for General Motors where he will be responsible for helping dispose of unwanted assets the automaker left in bankruptcy. He will be working for Southfield-based restructuring firm AlixPartners LLP.

Legal documents from AlixPartners did not indicate how long Henderson will work for or how much he’ll get paid.

“From time to time, AlixPartners contracts with experienced specialists to complement our existing team and to help us grow, and that’s our purpose in signing on Fritz Henderson as an independent contractor working on a part-time basis,” AlixPartners said in a statement.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

Newly appointed CEO of GM Ed Whitacre, will be compensated to the tune of $1.7 million per year in cash, and a stock package payable over three years beginning in 2012 that is valued at $5.3 million. Fritz Henderson, the ousted CEO that Whitacre was appointed to replace, will be retained as a consultant to Whitacre. The figure that Whitacre is set to receive is greater than what Henderson was to make before GM”s executive salaries were scrutinized by U.S. Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg. Before being officially named CEO, Whitacre was earning a salary of $350,000 as chairman.

GM rehired Henderson yesterday as consultant on a month-to-month basis with with the job expected to end before 2011, at a rate of $59,090. Henderson will offer counsel specifically with regard to international operations. For that fee Henderson is expected to put in about 20 hours per month.

Henderson was being paid $950,000 per year in cash and received a $4.2 million stock package as CEO, after Feinberg stuck his hand in and chopped the cash portion of Henderson”s salary from $1.3 million. It is said by many that GM”s pay restrictions imposed by the government have greatly hindered their search for an outside GM.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

By now, many of you know that Fritz Henderson resigned his position as CEO of General Motors Company last week on the eve of the 2009 LA Auto Show. Until GM finds a new CEO, GM’s chairman, Edward Whitacre Jr., will serve as the interim CEO. We’re not sure how well Whitacre will do in leading GM, so we’re wondering if you, the consumer, had some advice for him or the upcoming CEO (whoever he/she’s going to be).

Let your voice be heard in the comments section after the jump.

To get things started – I’ll throw in my two cents first: I believe Buick should be rebranded as Opel in the United States. The brand and its logo have unfortunately been stricken with “this is the old people’s car,” theme that even with great vehicles like the Enclave, LaCrosse and the upcoming Regal, is hard to shake off- it will be difficult to appeal to the young crowd and get masses into dealerships.

Just think about it for a second: Opel LaCrosse, Opel Enclave, Opel Regal – sounds much better than Buick LaCrosse, Buick Enclave or Buick Regal.

- By: Omar Rana

GM’s Chairman Edward Whitacre held a web chat with the media this morning – his first “press conference” since taking role as the Detroit automaker’s acting CEO. Whitacre has been criticized for avoiding the media ever since CEO Fritz Henderson”s resignation last week.

We decided to pick out some key point from the web chat. Unfortunately, Whitacre has yet to share exactly why Fritz Henderson resigned his position as CEO. However, Whitacre did let us know the importance of Bob Lutz at General Motors and that his everyday car is a Cadillac CTS-V.

Click through to check out some important questions that Whitacre was asked.

Todd Lassa – Motor Trend: Can you tell us what role Bob Lutz has within the company in the short term? Will he be retiring soon?

Ed Whitacre: Hi Todd…Bob is Vice Chairman…his role has changed a bit…he is senior advisor to me and top mgt. We look forward to learning a lot from him…you’ll have to ask him when he’s going to retire.

Robert Snell, Detroit News: Where do things stand with the search for a new chief financial officer and have you narrowed the list of candidates to a few finalists?

Ed Whitacre: It’s a good question…we’re close and have narrowed it down and have a real good candidate. Could have some news in two or three weeks..

Tom Krisher, AP: Fritz Henderson had only about 8 months as CEO before he left. How long do the newly appointed execs have to show results before they are replaced?

Ed Whitacre: Hi Tom…Not long. (yes, he actually made a smiley face).

Justin Hyde, Det.FreePres: Mr. Whitacre — What happens to GM’s pay restrictions once it repays the loans to the federal government? Do the restrictions continue as long as the gov’t is a stakeholder?

Ed Whitacre: Hi Justin, To be honest, we don’t know yet.

Paul Eisenstein: also, like many of my colleagues, I wonder when you will address us in the media directly, even if by telephone conference. To be honest, a webchat is quite a bit different and doesn’t carry the veracity of seeing or at least hearing you directly.

Ed Whitacre: Dear Paul, I’ve been on the job for four days. I’ll do it as soon as I feel comfortable and have enough clear air and time. I promise we’ll talk soon.

Robert Ray, Fox Business: Mr. Whitacre, on a personal note, do you like cars?

Ed Whitacre: Hi Robert, Oh yes.

Josh Oliver, TheGMSource: On another personal note, what is your personal, everyday vehicle?

Ed Whitacre: Josh, I drive a CTS-V.

- By: Omar Rana

Source: GM FastLane Blog

Ed Whitacre, chairman and acting CEO for General Motors, is avoiding making a public statement regarding the recently tumultuous nature of the company’s leadership. Whitacre was scheduled by GM to speak to the press tomorrow morning regarding the board’s seeking and receiving of, CEO Fritz Henderson’s resignation last week.

Earlier today, GM announced that Whitacre was dropped from the press call and that questions would be fielded by two lower-level officials; Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, and Susan Docherty, VP of sales, service, and marketing.

Company spokesman Tom Wilkinson said that Whitacre being scheduled was an error and that he should never have been scheduled for that time.

UPDATE: Whitacre has suddenly become available for comment and will participate in the press call after all – but will his answers be just as elusive as he has been? – GM FastLane Blog.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: CNNMoney

GM will focus their CEO search on outsiders, says Detroit News. The Detroit automaker is deep in the process of finding a CFO, and after Tuesday’s resignation by CEO Fritz Henderson after only 8 months in office, they must also now find a viable Chief Executive.

Henderson was promoted to CEO in March, when President Obama’s auto task force pushed out then-CEO Rick Wagoner. Henderson was previously GM’s COO. Right now the company is in the hands of the board of directors and their chairman, Edward Whitacre Jr. Many are not surprised by the move however, as it is noted that the auto task force considered replacing Henderson with Wagoner, but decided to promote him rather than move out both the CEO and COO in the middle of a complex bankruptcy.

Henderson has clashed with the board from the beginning. They previously turned down Henderson’s team’s recommendation to sell German unit, Opel as well.

It is going to be a rough search for Whitacre and the board however, as any pay package will require United States Treasury Approval, as the government still retains an almost 61% stake in the company. GM also plans to remain on track with their late 2010 targeted IPO.

-By Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

Maximum Bob Lutz is filling in for former GM CEO Fritz Henderson this morning at the 2009 LA Auto Show to deliver the Keynote address. You can check out the live video right here after the jump.

Click through for the video.

- By: Omar Rana

On the even of his keynote speech at the 2009 LA Auto Show and after just 8 months on the job, General Motors’ Fritz Henderson has resigned his position as CEO of the Detroit automaker.

“Fritz has done a remarkable job in leading the company through an unprecedented period of challenge and change,” GM Chairman Edward Whitacre said in a statement. “While momentum has been building over the past several months, all involved agree that changes needed to be made. To this end, I have taken over the role of Chairman and CEO while an international search for a new president and CEO begins immediately. With these new duties, I will begin working in the Renaissance Center headquarters on a daily basis. The leadership team ““ many who are with me today ““ are united and committed to the task at hand.”

Henderson, 51, replaced Rick Wagoner on March 29 after the former CEO was ousted by the Obama administration.

Who will make the keynote speech at the 2009 LA Auto Show tomorrow? We’ll let you know as soon as we find out.

- By: Omar Rana

General Motors Company CEO Fritz Henderson, who is currently visiting Opel’s headquarters in Ruesselsheim to repair relations, said that Opel will not play a global role in the empire of the Detroit automaker. Nonetheless, Henderson said that GM will give the European brand more freedom.

“We have a strategy in Brazil around Chevrolet … It’s a strong brand; the last thing we usually need is another brand,” he said.

Henderson expressed very little interest to market Opel vehicles outside of Europe or even moving the company’s stats from a limited liability company to an incorporated stock company, reports Automotive News.

“Opel is a regional brand and I don’t see that changing. That doesn’t mean I’m closed to ideas about how it can be used elsewhere; but the measure of the Opel brand’s success will be Europe, because if you don’t win here all the discussion of exports will be irrelevant,” Henderson said.

Sorry to shatter your dreams of seeing Opel branded vehicles on U.S. roads.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Reuters

General Motors Company’s CEO Fritz Henderson is in Germany meeting with leaders of Opel to discuss the brand’s future. Opel spokesman Ulrich Weber said that Henderson wanted to get a firsthand look at the situation at Opel headquarters in Ruesselsheim.

The talks today ended without any clear plans for the future of Opel’s five plants in Germany. Henderson will hold more talks on Tuesday.

Henderson is being accompanied by Nick Reilly, director of GM’s international operations and interim CEO of Opel until GM finds a replacement for Carl-Peter Forster, who is leaving the company.

GM announced last week that it will keep Opel and restructure it, putting an end to plans to sell the brand to Magna International and Russian lender Sberbank. The deal was backed by the German government and Opel workers.

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Detroit News

General Motors is thus far out performing the estimates of their own viability plan that was conceived before their June bankruptcy, according to Automotive News. “I’m not going to get into whether we’re generating cash or not generating cash, but I would certainly say the situation is more stable than what the outlook was even just two months ago,” Henderson told the press.

The plan as it was originally outlined, called for the stabilization and rebounding of GM on the backs of four core brands; Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC, and called for a 19.5 percent share of the market in 2009. The plan also called for drastic cost cutting as their North American structural costs would decline from $30.8 billion in ’08 to $23.2 billion ’10.

“GM’s total U.S. sales through October are down 34 percent to 1.7 million. GM’s sales for October were up 5 percent to 176,632. And 95 percent of those sales were from the four core brands,” said the Article. CEO Fritz Henderson says that while the current data is not great, it shows stability and indicates effectiveness of the original strategy.

The article also mentions that “Henderson said he is confident in GM’s ability to repay the $50 billion in financial support to the U.S. government. He said GM has a greater ability now to generate value in its stock than it did in the past because it has a stronger balance sheet and fewer liabilities such as health care expenses.”

- By: Stephen Calogera

General Motors Company CEO Fritz Henderson told lawmakers in Washington yesterday that the Detroit automaker plans on restoring a limited number of dealers that were “mistakenly terminated.” He said that GM would not provide them any compensation since it already provided financial assistance when the wind-down plans were in effect.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said that Henderson told the congressional delegation that an agreement could be announced as early as today.

In an interview with Automotive News, Hoekstra said Henderson told them on a conference call that GM plans to review plans to shutter 1,350 dealerships by October 2010 to see whether any errors were made

“He was very vague, and the plan sounded inadequate to me,” Hoekstra said. “He explained, for instance, that they might reopen some franchises if they found errors, but he didn’t say what those errors might be.”

- By: Stephen Calogera

Late last week, the Obama Administration ordered seven companies who received a significant amount of federal loan to cut the salaries of their top-level executives by an average of 90 percent and cut total compensation (including cash, stock and perks) by half.

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson was amongst the many executives who saw government-imposed cuts in his own salary. Speaking to the press today between meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Henderson said that the cuts were “fair” and “thoughtful.” He said that the changes were “tough, but the situation is tough.”

Fritz’s salary was cut by 25 percent bringing his annual salary to $950,000 a year. Before the cuts, Henderson”s yearly salary came in at $1.3 million.

The cuts are being overseen by Obama’s pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg.

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Free Press

General Motors Company’s CEO Fritz Henderson will see his annual salary cut by 25 percent as a part of Obama’s pay reduction for the top 175 executives at seven companies that received significant federal bailout money. Fritz’s annual salary will fall to $950,000 a year.

The U.S. Treasury did not identify the top earners at each company but a source familiar with the matter said that Fritz is the most highly paid GM executive, reports Automotive News.

Fritz, who was COO of GM until last year, will get $4.2 million in stock salary and long-term restricted stock. Before the pay changes, Henderson’s yearly salary come in at $1.3 million.

Former GM CEO Rick Wagoner received $5.5 million in 2008, including a $2.1 million salary. He made $14.1 million in 2007.

- By: Omar Rana

General Motors Co. is gunning for the Asian market; big-time. According to freep.com, GM’s sales in China for the period covering January – September surged 55% over the previous year, with nearly 1.3 million units moved.

The overall market growth in China this year has been 34%, with a total of 9.6 million vehicles sold through September. China’s auto sales for the year are expected to soar to 12.6 million units, making China the world’s largest auto-market.

To get an idea of just how significant the Chinese market is to success in the international auto-market, consider the fact that GM’s international headquarters is now located in Shanghai. On a recent visit to the Shanghai offices, CEO Fritz Henderson made it a point to emphasize the company’s intention to grow in that market, emphasizing the 30 plus, new or ‘refreshed’ models that GM plans to introduce to the Chinese market in the coming five years.

“We strongly believe in the growth opportunity in China and will continue to invest here,” Henderson told reporters on Tuesday. “We”re going to keep our foot firmly planted on the gas pedal to grow our business here.”

The company also announced recently, a joint venture to produce commercial vehicles with state-run FAW Group Corp.; one of nine joint ventures working towards growth in the market.

Henderson also denies any intention to develop Shanghai as a major export base, as their priority at this point is to meet Chinese demand.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Free Press

Evan Newmark, of The Wall Street Journal, believes that GM CEO Fritz Henderson deserves the Nobel Peace Prize more than Barack Obama.

In his column ‘Meant Street’, Newmark wrote of Henderson that he “has to save GM, once America’s proudest company and now its national disgrace,” and he doesn’t have the four year grace period that the President has.

“He (Henderson) seems to ‘get it’ ““ ‘it’ being just how big a mess he has on his hands,” Newmark writes. “And he”s already done a lot in his inaugural six months. He pushed GM through a tricky bankruptcy, put the kibosh on Bob Lutz”s beloved G8 project, and got a new board of directors. At the 90 Day Update he claimed GM is operating close to plan.”

Newmark also cites the fact that Henderson is constrained by TARP and its hiring guidelines due to the bailout, and that Obama and Ford Motors have access to much more quality people than does Henderson.

- By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Wall Street Journal (via AutoObserver)

During a live chat session with General Motors Company’s CEO Fritz Henderson last week on GM’s FastLane Blog, the head of the Detroit automaker was asked what cars he has in his garage right now.

Fritz replied that he owns a “Camaro, my 2005 corvette and a Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible.” Henderson did not specify which Camaro (V6, or the V8 SS) he owns, neither did he tell us what’s under the hood of his Corvette.

Either way, we just thought you guys would like to know.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: GM FastLane Blog