Asked for his opinion on the resignation of Fritz Henderson as Chief Executive Officer of General Motors in an apparent shake-up by the GM Board, Mike Jackson Chairman and CEO of AutoNation, the largest retailer of GM cars and trucks in the United States, responded that he was 'as surprised as everyone else' at the resignation and expressed his regard for the talents of Mr. Henderson as CEO of GM as Mr Jackson had an opportunity several times to work with Mr. Henderson closely on issues regarding the re-building of the U.S. auto industry. Just recently Mr. Henderson joined Mike Jackson at the Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship of Nova University in South Florida, to present a "Current State and Strategic Recovery Analysis of the U.S. Auto Industry" at a Town Hall meeting that was presented to the students and faculty of the university.
As a result, Mr. Jackson knew in general the "approach" and basic philosophy for the reorganization of General Motors and thought that the path to recovery the company had taken was viable and the goals the government "Auto Task Force" would have expected to be accomplished would be achieved. It was clear that the plan that did come into fruition was in part a result of the strategic guidance and contributions of Mr. Henderson and others. 'I am concerned for the future because of this change... and thought they (Fritz Henderson and Al Whitacre) made a great team.' Mr. Jackson concluded.
Never the less; one can only speculate as to why Fritz Henderson has left GM.....? Mr. Jackson continued...'one can only conjecture of possibe friction "built in" to a management team at GM that may have led to the resignation.' 'When a Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer are two different executives, they inevitably will have different approaches to strategic management of a company. And, with the stakes so high with a company such as General Motors, these differences are easily exacerbated simply by the magnitude of the issues'.. Mr. Jackson explained possibly that one could look at the various international deals that GM had undertaken to divest itself of several unwanted divisions or lines such as Opel, Saab, Hummer, and Saturn as examples and the possible controverseries surrounding the implementation of these "deals". But, it is really difficult to say what was the "real reason" for the departure.
Ed Whitacre, the current Chairman of the General Motors board, will now have to step up to fill the void left by Mr. Henderson as CEO Mr. Jackson went on to say...and this will not be easy. However, Mr. Whitacre is an extremely capable individual who was tapped by the Auto Task Force to head GM after his retirement as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T. There he developed and grew the current AT&T from a local regional telephone service provider back to its original glory as a major communications company with a national footprint similar to the original AT&T and this was done mainly through acquisition and reorganization. Mr. Whitacre maintains a steller reputation for management at the highest levels.
However, the government does send 'mixed signals' . The Automotive Task Force is still in charge of the auto industry reorganization and often signals sent to the industry differ in tone and style as what is expected from the executives in charge. This makes management of a company's re-organization very difficult; particularly during this time of industry upheval and"turn-around".'
... In conclusion Mr. Jackson is still skeptical as to why Fritz Henderson left General Motors. However, from a purely "talent point of view", he believed that the company was on the right path to recovery and indicated that the talents of Fritz Henderson were much appreciated...Mike Jackson and AutoNation do remain hopeful that the GM reorganization plan will continue to unfold positively for the future of the company and the rest of the U.S. auto industry as well.
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