ClimateOne

Ed Whitacre took America’s biggest corporate failure and quickly moved it back into profitability. To do so, he restructured the management team, launched a new vision and turned GM’s corporate culture upside-down. Now, with the U.S. treasury still owning about 32% of GM stock, American taxpayers take a special interest in the successes and failures of the company. What were the impacts of his short tenure, and where does he see the company going?  

 

The EV industry is experiencing birthing pains, and manufacturers may be as confused as consumers. While sales of EVs are slowly rising, who are the early buyers? Do manufacturers understand how to market to them? And what role does VC and government funding play in advancing the industry? 

 

 • Chelsea Sexton, EV advocate and consultant, featured in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car? 


Three years after American taxpayers bailed out industry giant General Motors, GM posted the most profitable year in its century-long history. The bailout saved an estimated million jobs and allowed the company to invest nearly $10 billion in revitalizing the industry. When asked about the company’s debt to the government, Dan Akerson, GM’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “We paid all that back plus dividends and interest.” The bulk of the repayment came in the form of stock. Of the more than $52 billion committed to GM, the U.S.