Daniel Akerson
Daniel Akerson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Francis Akerson October 21, 1948 |
| Alma mater | U.S. Naval Academy (B.S.) London School of Economics (M.S.) |
| Occupation(s) | Chairman and CEO of General Motors |
| Board member of | General Motors American Express |
Daniel Francis "Dan" Akerson (born October 21, 1948) is the current Chairman and CEO of General Motors. Akerson succeeded Edward Whitacre as CEO on September 1, 2010, and became Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2011. Akerson was a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group and head of global buyout prior to joining General Motors. He joined the General Motors board of directors on July 24, 2009. Akerson also serves on the boards of American Express and the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation.[1]
Personal life
Akerson was born in California, grew up in Mankato, Minnesota, and currently resides in McLean, Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Naval Academy (Class of 1970) and a Master of Science degree in economics from the London School of Economics.[2] Akerson served as an officer on a Naval destroyer from 1970-1975. He is a Republican.[3] Akerson and his wife Karin have three children.
Career
Akerson joined MCI Inc. in 1983 where he served as the CFO for several years as well as President and Chief Operating Officer.[4] He left MCI in 1993 to become chairman and chief executive of General Instrument, where he succeeded former and future United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.[5]
In 1996, Akerson was hired to be the chief executive of Nextel. During his tenure as CEO, Nextel's revenues grew from $171.7 million in the year before his arrival to more than $3.3 billion in 1998. Shortly after stepping down as CEO of Nextel in July 1999, Akerson was brought in by Craig McCaw to run Nextlink Communications, later rebranded as XO Communications.[6] XO Communications entered bankruptcy in June 2002, and Akerson resigned as CEO in December 2002.[7] Akerson joined The Carlyle Group in 2003.[8] While at The Carlyle Group, Akerson ran the Company's largest private equity fund.[9]
In July 2009, Akerson was named to the board of directors of General Motors as a representative of the U.S. Treasury, which owns a 61% stake in GM.[10] On August 12, 2010 it was announced that Akerson would be the successor of Ed Whitacre as CEO of General Motors, starting September 1, 2010 and would also assume the Chairman of the Board position on January 1, 2011. General Motors, during Akerson's first year of tenure in 2011, earned a record $7.6 billion in profit off of $150.3 billion in sales.[11]
In April 2013, investors began to speculate that the 64-year old executive may be considering retirement. The speculation was based solely on changes to Akerson's compensation plan at GM. [12]
Awards
In 2010, Akerson received the 2010 McKenna Humanitarian of the Year Award from So Others Might Eat for his funding of Marguerite’s Place, a Washington, DC-based community center named for his mother.[4] In March, 2012, the US Naval Academy recognized Akerson with the Distinguised Graduate Award.[13] Citing his leadership in helping guide GM's recovery, The Executives' Club of Chicago awarded Mr. Akerson the highly prestigious International Executive of the Year Award.[14] As part of the award, Akerson was lauded for being a champion for the inclusion of more women in senior management at GM, including the boardroom—women comprise 33% of GM's board of directors, one of the highest percentages in all of American business.[15]
Akerson was awarded the Detroit Free Press Automotive Leadership award in April 2013 for guiding GM through very challenging times. [16]
References
- ^ "Daniel F. Akerson Corporate Bio". General Motors. January 1, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
- ^ "The Carlyle Group". BusinessWeek.
- ^ Chrissie Thompson, Greg Gardner (2011-10-10). "GM CEO Dan Akerson defends lower pay for new workers". USA Today.
- ^ a b http://www.usna.com/page.aspx?pid=467
- ^ Andrews, Edmund L. (August 12, 1993). "MCI's President Quits in a Surprise Move". The New York Times, EDMUND L. ANDREWS, August 12, 1993. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Nextlink CEO Is on a Hot Streak". The Washington Post, Rob Garretson, June 26, 2000. June 26, 2000. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "XO Chairman Akerson to Leave". The Washington Post, December 28, 2002. December 28, 2002.
- ^ O'Hara, Terence (January 31, 2005). "Carlyle Group Prepares for the Next Generation". The Washington Post, Terence O'Hara, January 31, 2005. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_36/b4193064985274.htm
- ^ "New GM Board Members Named". The Washington Post, Terri Rupar, July 23, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "G.M. Reports Big Profit; Europe Lags". NY Times. February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/28/gm-alters-akersons-pay-mix-because-he-may-retire/
- ^ http://www.usna.com/document.doc?id=64
- ^ http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Jun/0628_dfa.html
- ^ http://www.industryweek.com/global-economy/general-motors-ceo-dan-akerson-receive-executive-year-award
- ^ http://www.freep.com/article/99999999/BUSINESS01/399990068/General-Motors-CEO-Dan-Akerson-Toyota-s-Jim-Lentz-honored-by-Free-Press-for-being-champions-in-a-crisis
External links
- Daniel Akerson (2011-09-22). "Daniel Akerson: How to Fix American Manufacturing". Business Week. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
