Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
GM, Chrysler cleared executive decks in 2009
When 2009 began, both General Motors and Chrysler were sliding toward bankruptcy. As the year ends, both companies have survived to fight another day.
The same can’t be said for their senior executives.
Of the top 10 executives at GM’s glass-towered Detroit headquarters in January, only one — Bob Lutz – remains. At Chrysler, only two of the 10 highest-ranking executives are still in Auburn Hills.
At GM, the churn took a dramatic toll at the vice president level. Of the 55 top executives, including vice presidents and divisional leaders, who were at GM at the start of the year, 26 have left the automaker. Of the remainder, few remain in the same positions they held, according to a Reuters tally.
The sweep was made near complete on Dec. 1 when the board at General Motors Co parted company with former chief executive Fritz Henderson after he had the post for only eight months.
Only at Ford did any of the former Big Three — now called the Detroit Three — automakers kept the slate of top executives pretty much intact. Only two of Ford’s top 10 executives have left; both retired.
Of course, Ford did not declare bankruptcy to save itself as GM and Chrysler did this year with funding from the Obama administration.
Hybrids in, plastic bags out: Even energy CEOs are thinking greener
At the Reuters Global Energy Summit this week, Reuters reporters and editors spent a lot of time talking to energy CEOs and other top industry executives about soaring oil prices, carbon caps, and the outlook for renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
Then, we got personal.
Before we let them go, we asked the Summit guests what they were doing to reduce their own carbon footprints.
Predictably, the CEO of solar power company SunPower, Tom Werner, said he had solar panels on his house. OK, that was a no-brainer. But Werner is also an avid gardener who throws his groceries in the back of his car rather than use the supermarket’s plastic bags.
Other answers were more surprising, including when Steve Leer, CEO of coal company Arch Coal, said he was in the market for an electric car. Or, maybe that’s not so surprising, considering plug-in electric cars are recharged by power from the grid, much of which is generated by coal-fired plants. Hmmm. Food for thought, at least.
For our complete list of what energy executives are doing to reduce their carbon footprints, click here.
If CEOs were really thinking green, we’d go with a 4 day/10 hour work week and/or promote more telecommuting. It’s estimated 20% of workers could do 100% of their jobs from home. Imagine what we’d save on commuting, alone.
