Whistleblower Reportedly Brought Down GM Marketer

A whistleblower on General Motors Co.'s marketing staff informed the company about irregularities in the way Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick handled its new sponsorship deal with English soccer club Manchester United, Bloomberg News reports.

The news report, which cites several unidentified sources, says the tip prompted an internal investigation that led to Ewanick's ouster in late July. The whistleblower told GM that Ewanick had spread the cost of the sponsorship across several marketing budgets to hide the fact he was exceeding spending limits set by CEO Dan Akerson.

Manchester United disclosed last week that it would receive $559 million from the carmaker under the deal, which analysts consider an astonishingly large amount. Bloomberg's sources add that there is no evidence that Ewanick benefited personally from the arrangement.

When GM's general counsel questioned Ewanick about the soccer transaction, he denied the allegations. But the company's internal investigation was already confirming those charges and unearthing additional details he had concealed, the news service reports.

Akerson was already unhappy with some of Ewanick's behavior, including a rebuke for his use of profanity at an official event in June, according to Bloomberg. It says the CEO also considered it ungentlemanly when the marketer aired GM's internal criticism of Facebook advertising days before the social media company's initial public offering.

The automaker previously had required Ewanick to respond to allegations he had cut corners on a Cadillac sponsorship with a California ski resort, the news service reports.