The Reuters news agency, citing the usual ‘people close to the matter’ said General Motors CEO Dan Akerson could step down as early as next year though he has not formally notified the board of his plans and an official search for his successor has not yet begun.
GM’s board is not in any rush to see Akerson, 65, leave and has not set a timeframe for hiring an executive search firm to weigh potential internal or external candidates, one of the sources, who is familiar with the board’s thinking, told the news agency.
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Speculation about Akerson’s exit increased in April when GM disclosed in a securities filing that his pay package had changed. The CEO was not awarded any restricted stock units last year “in acknowledgement of the possibility of his retirement before the completion of the three-year vesting period” which would be in 2015.
Reuters noted investors have focused on four senior GM executives as the most likely successors to Akerson, with North American operations head Mark Reuss widely seen as the frontrunner. But the board will still launch an official search once Akerson formalises his plans, the person familiar with the board’s thinking was quoted as saying.
“I assume at some point he (Akerson) will decide he has done what he has wanted to do and will step down, but no one has a date for that,” said the source.
GM told Reuters the company has succession plans in place but declined to give the details. “We’re very comfortable with our succession planning, which we have in place for all our key officers,” head of communications Selim Bingol said.
Akerson was appointed CEO just before GM re-entered public markets on November 2010, following a US$49.5bn government bailout and bankruptcy reorganisation.
According to Reuters, citing ‘people with knowledge of talks that the French carmaker had with GM earlier this year’, executives at GM’s partner PSA/Peugeot-Citroen believe Akerson will most likely hand over the reins next year, and certainly not stay beyond 2015.
Akerson has not publicly addressed the timing of his exit. In January, when asked that question, he only said that he would be running the company at the same time in 2014.
