Richard Wagoner
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George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
. Wagoner resigned as chairman and CEO at
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
on March 29, 2009, at the request of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. The latter part of Wagoner's tenure as CEO of General Motors found him under heavy criticism as the
market valuation Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...
of GM went down by more than 90% and the company lost more than US$82 billion. He is a board member of
ChargePoint ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (formerly Coulomb Technologies) is an American electric vehicle infrastructure company based in Campbell, California. ChargePoint operates the largest online network of independently owned EV charging stations operati ...
, an electric vehicle infrastructure company.


Family and education

Wagoner was born in
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
and grew up in
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. He graduated from
John Randolph Tucker High School John Randolph Tucker High School is a public high school in the West End of Henrico County, Virginia, United States. It is named after lawyer and judge John Randolph Tucker (professor), John Randolph Tucker. Its students and faculty often refer t ...
there, where he was named "Best All Around" student in his graduating class. He received a BA in Economics from
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
in 1975. He then attended
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
, from which he received an
MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
in 1977. He is married and has three adult sons. While at Duke, he became a member of the
Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States–based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapt ...
fraternity. Wagoner is a member of the boards of trustees of
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
,
Detroit Country Day School Detroit Country Day School (also known as DCD, DCDS, or Country Day) is a private, secular school located in three campuses in Oakland County, in the U.S. state of Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safet ...
, the Board of Dean's Advisors of the
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
, and the board of directors of
Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
. He is a member of The Business Council, The
Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, ...
, Detroit Renaissance Executive Committee, and the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.


General Motors

After Harvard, he joined GM as an analyst in the treasurer's office. In 1981, he became treasurer of GM's
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
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. After GM lost $30 billion during a single three-year stretch in the early 1990s, 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.


Chief Executive Officer

Wagoner became president and Chief Executive Officer in June 2000 and was elected chairman on May 1, 2003. Under his leadership, GM suffered more than $85 billion in losses. In an interview, Wagoner stated that the worst decision of his tenure at GM was "axing the
EV1 The General Motors EV1 is a battery electric vehicle, battery electric car produced by the American automaker General Motors from 1996 until #Demise, its demise in 1999. A subcompact car, the EV1 marked the introduction of mass production, ma ...
electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
program and not putting the right resources into hybrids. "It didn't affect profitability," Wagoner claimed, "but it did affect image". In April 2005, Wagoner took back personal control of GM's North American car division from GM North American chairman Bob Lutz and GM North American President Gary Cowger 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 million to 5 million). In the Automotive industry crisis of 2008–10, Wagoner came under renewed pressure as GM sought financial support from the U.S. government in an attempt to avoid
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...
. During the latter half of 2008, Wagoner and GM maintained that bankruptcy was "not an option that GM is considering," despite rapidly running out of capital. This stance was called "presumptuous" by some observers. Within 9 months, GM was to declare bankruptcy. During hearings for government loans to the Big Three Automakers, Wagoner,
Alan Mulally Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive. He was the CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes from 1998 to 2006, and later as president and chief executive officer of the Ford Motor Company ...
and
Robert Nardelli Robert Louis "Bob" Nardelli (born May 17, 1948) is an American businessman who was the CEO of Freedom Group from September 2010 to March 2012. Prior to that role, Nardelli served as chairman and CEO of Chrysler from August 2007 to April 2009 a ...
were criticized for flying to Washington, D.C. in corporate jets. For a subsequent meeting, the three CEOs drove from Detroit to Washington by hybrid cars. The BBC reported that Wagoner was popular among GM employees and reporters. However, it cites that he lacked the "ruthless streak needed to make the tough decisions required to bring GM back from the brink of bankruptcy." While analysts have praised Wagoner for operational improvements, cost-cutting moves and an increased focus on vehicle quality, with the appointment of Bob Lutz to oversee product execution, others criticized him for his incremental approach to change, largely as he resisted making the drastic cuts demanded by the US government. Throughout the first months of 2009, Wagoner argued that a bankruptcy would be more costly than a government bailout. However, there remained lingering doubts that he was implementing the restructuring moves necessary to remain viable in the future without further government loans. On March 29, 2009, Wagoner agreed to immediately resign his position as GM chairman and CEO, as part of the Obama administration deal to provide GM with further short-term financing. The following day, the US government rejected GM's initial restructuring plan and gave the company 60 days to come with a new proposal or be forced into bankruptcy. He was replaced as CEO by
Fritz Henderson Frederick Arthur "Fritz" Henderson (born November 29, 1958) was president and chief executive officer of General Motors. Prior to his appointment as CEO on March 31, 2009, Henderson was the Vice President of General Motors and had been with the co ...
, who had been serving as GM's President and chief operating officer. After 32 years at GM, Wagoner retired with an exit package of over $10 million: $1.65 million in benefits per year for his first five years of retirement, $74,030 per year pension for the rest of his life, and a $2.6 million life insurance policy that can be cashed out at any time. In 2017, Wagoner was appointed a director at ChargePoint Inc., a
Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
company that makes electric-vehicle charging stations. In 2018, Wagoner made an investment into
YourMechanic YourMechanic is an American company that provides mobile automotive repair and maintenance services to vehicle owners at their location, such as their home or office. The privately held startup company was originally based in Mountain View, Cali ...
, a Silicon Valley startup which connects owners with a group of certified mechanics, currently offering more than 800 repair services.


See also

* Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2009 *
General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization The 2009 General Motors Chapter 11 sale of the assets of automobile manufacturer General Motors and some of its subsidiaries was implemented through Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in the United States bankruptcy court for the Southern ...


References


External links


Rick Wagoner's biographyRick Wagoner's speaks on GM's India strategy
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagoner, Rick 1953 births American chief executives in the automobile industry Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Businesspeople from Wilmington, Delaware Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia Harvard Business School alumni People in the automobile industry General Motors executives American chief operating officers