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Daniel Akerson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel Akerson
Akerson in 2012
Born
Daniel Francis Akerson

(1948-10-31)October 31, 1948(age 75)
Oakland, California,United States
Alma materU.S. Naval Academy(BS)
London School of Economics(MS)
OccupationBusinessman
Known forFormerchairmanandCEOofGeneral Motors
Board member ofGeneral Motors,American Express
SpouseMarried

Daniel Francis Akerson(born October 21, 1948) is the former chairman andCEOofGeneral Motors,serving from 2010 to 2014. Akerson succeededEdward Whitacreas CEO on September 1, 2010, and became chairman of the board on January 1, 2011. He was succeeded byGeneral MotorsCEOMary Barra.[1]Akerson was a managing director ofThe Carlyle Groupand head of global buyout prior to joiningGeneral Motors.He joined theGeneral Motorsboard of directors on July 24, 2009. Akerson also serves on the boards ofAmerican Expressand theU.S. Naval AcademyFoundation,[2]and in 2014 joinedThe Carlyle Groupas a vice chairman and special advisor to the board of directors.

Personal life

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Akerson was born inOakland, California,grew up inMankato,Minnesota,and attendedMankato WestHigh school. He currently resides inMcLean, Virginia.He holds aBachelor of Sciencedegree inengineeringfrom theUnited States Naval Academy(Class of 1970) and aMaster of Sciencedegree ineconomicsfrom theLondon School of Economics.[3]Akerson served as anofficeron aNavaldestroyer from 1970-1975.

Akerson's maternal grandparents areGermanand his paternal grandparents areSwedish.[4]

Career

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Akerson joinedMCI Inc.in 1983 where he served as theCFOfor several years as well as president and chief operating officer.[5]He left MCI in 1993 to become chairman and chief executive ofGeneral Instrument,where he succeeded formerUnited States Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld.[6]

In 1996, Akerson was hired to be the chief executive ofNextel.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 byCraig McCawto run Nextlink Communications, later rebranded asXO Communications.[7]XO Communications entered bankruptcy in June 2002, and Akerson resigned as CEO in December 2002.[8]Akerson joinedThe Carlyle Groupin 2003.[9] While at The Carlyle Group, Akerson ran the company's largest private equity fund.[10]

In July 2009, Akerson was named to the board of directors ofGeneral Motorsas a representative of theU.S. Treasury,which at the time owned a 61% stake in GM.[11]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. During Akerson's first year of tenure in 2011, General Motors earned a record $7.6 billion in profit off of $150.3 billion in sales.[12]In December 2013, theU.S. Treasury sold its final remaining shares of GM common stock.[13]

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.[14]

On December 10, 2013, GM announced that Akerson will be replaced as CEO of GM byMary Barra,effective January 15, 2014.[15]It is reported that Akerson's retirement was expedited by his wife's advanced stage cancer;[16]however, on March 1, 2014, The Carlyle Group announced that Akerson rejoined the firm as vice chairman and special advisor to the board of directors.[17]As of February 2014, Akerson serves on the board of directors atLockheed Martin.

Political opinions

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In August 2016, Akerson announced that he would—for the first time in his life—not vote for the Republican presidential candidate.[18]In anop-edpiece forThe Washington Post,Akerson excoriatedDonald Trumpon a wide range of issues, while praisingHillary Clinton.[18]

References

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  1. ^David, Javier E. (December 10, 2013)."GM caps busy week by naming Mary Barra as new chief".CNBC.RetrievedFebruary 21,2020.
  2. ^"Daniel F. Akerson Corporate Bio".General Motors. January 1, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 22,2011.
  3. ^"Daniel Francis Akerson" Dan "".Bloomberg.RetrievedNovember 12,2021.
  4. ^James, Sheryl."Navigating Troubled Waters".Hour Detroit magazine.RetrievedDecember 10,2013.
  5. ^"Home - News16_10 - Lockheed Martin".Usna.RetrievedJuly 11,2017.
  6. ^Andrews, Edmund L. (August 12, 1993)."MCI's President Quits in a Surprise Move".The New York Times, Edmund L. Andrews, August 12, 1993.RetrievedApril 30,2010.
  7. ^Rob Garretson (June 26, 2000)."Nextlink CEO Is on a Hot Streak".The Washington Post.RetrievedApril 30,2010.
  8. ^"XO Chairman Akerson to Leave".The Washington Post.December 28, 2002. Archived fromthe originalon November 6, 2012.RetrievedJuly 6,2017.
  9. ^O'Hara, Terence (January 31, 2005)."Carlyle Group Prepares for the Next Generation".The Washington Post.RetrievedApril 30,2010.
  10. ^David Welch (August 26, 2010)."Dan Akerson Takes the Wheel at GM".Bloomberg.RetrievedNovember 12,2021.
  11. ^Terri Rupar (July 23, 2009)."New GM Board Members Named".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon April 30, 2011.RetrievedNovember 12,2021.
  12. ^Bunkley, Nick (February 16, 2012)."G.M. Reports Big Profit; Europe Lags".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 16,2012.
  13. ^"Treasury Sells Final Shares of GM Common Stock".treasury.gov.RetrievedAugust 21,2019.
  14. ^Zach Bowman (April 28, 2013)."GM alters Akerson's pay mix because he may retire".Autoblog.RetrievedJuly 11,2017.
  15. ^Javier E. David (December 10, 2013)."GM names Mary Barra as new CEO".Cnbc.RetrievedJuly 11,2017.
  16. ^Smith, Aaron (December 10, 2013)."GM names Mary Barra as new CEO".CNN.
  17. ^"News Release Archive".The Carlyle Group.RetrievedJuly 11,2017.
  18. ^abAkerson, Daniel (August 17, 2016)."I've always voted Republican. Until now".The Washington Post.RetrievedJuly 11,2017.
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Business positions
Preceded by CEO ofGeneral Motors
September 1, 2010, to January 15, 2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman ofGeneral Motors
September 1, 2010, to January 15, 2014 		Succeeded by
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