Rick Wagoner

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Rick Wagoner
Born	February 9, 1953 (1953-02-09) (age 55) Wilmington, Delaware, USA
Nationality	American
Occupation	Company director

George Richard "Rick" Wagoner, Jr. (b. February 9, 1953, Wilmington, Delaware) is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors.

[edit] Life and career

Wagoner grew up in Richmond, Virginia and graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School there. In 2008 he was nominated into the Sports Hall of Fame at Tucker. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977.

After Harvard, he joined GM as an analyst in the treasurer's office. In 1981 he became treasurer of GM's Brazil subsidiary and later served as managing director.

In 1992 he was named GM's chief financial officer, in 1994 he became executive vice president and/or president of North American Operations, and in 1998 he was named president and chief operating officer. He became president and chief executive officer in June 2000 and was elected chairman on May 1, 2003.

The operational improvements that Wagoner helped make in the decade, starting when he was chief financial officer and later as chief operating officer was reflected in GM lead over the rest of the U.S. Big Three car companies. After GM lost $30 billion during a single three-year stretch in the early '90s, Wagoner and Chairman John F. "Jack" Smith Jr. forced GM back to basics to battle 30 years of management mistakes that left him with little room to maneuver^[1].

In April 2005 Wagoner took back personal control of GM's North American car division in light of its poor performance. In early June 2005 Wagoner announced that GM in the United States would close several plants and shed 25,000 employees (17% of GM's U.S. workforce) by 2008. The cuts will result in GM production reducing output by one million cars and trucks (from 6,000,000 to 5,000,000).

Wagoner is a member of the boards of trustees of Duke University, Detroit Country Day School, the Board of Dean's Advisors of the Harvard Business School, and the Board of Directors of Catalyst. He is a member of The Business Council, The Business Roundtable, Detroit Renaissance Executive Committee, and the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.

Wagoner makes a higher yearly salary at GM than the top nine executives at Toyota combined.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rick Wagoner's biography
• Rick Wagoner's speaks on GM's India strategy

Preceded by John F. Smith, Jr.	Chairman General Motors 2003 – present	Succeeded by incumbent
Preceded by John F. Smith, Jr.	CEO General Motors 2000 – present	Succeeded by incumbent
Preceded by John F. Smith, Jr.	President General Motors 1998 – 2003	Succeeded by none