GM Mulled Naming Reuss CEO in 2010

The board of General Motors Co. gave serious consideration to naming Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, as CEO in mid-2010, according to former Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre.

Whitacre's memoir, American Turnaround: Reinventing AT&T and GM and the Way We Do Business in the USA, will be published on Feb. 5. In an excerpt in Fortune magazine, Whitacre recounts the board's hasty search for a successor in August 2010 when he decided to step down as CEO.

Whitacre suggested Reuss, then age 46. GM directors were impressed with Reuss' talent and management potential, according to Whitacre. He says the drawback was Reuss' lack of experience in a senior job.

GM had plucked Reuss from its Australian unit in September 2009 to become global vehicle engineering chief. Three months later, he leapfrogged into the top North American job.

The board decided promoting Reuss was too risky because the company needed stability after going through three CEOs in 18 months. Director Dan Akerson volunteered for the job. He became CEO on Sept. 1 and chairman on Jan. 1, 2011.

Reuss, product development chief Mary Barra, Vice Chairman Steve Girsky and CFO Dan Ammann are considered candidates to succeed Akerson, who has not said when he will retire.