New CEO in a hurry to fix troubled automaker

SOUTHFIELD, Michigan: General Motors Co Chairman Ed Whitacre said he was in a hurry. When he took over the chief executive officer job from Fritz Henderson, he showed just how urgent he is to fix the automaker.

Whitacre, 68, who as chief of AT&T Inc assembled the world's largest telecom company, accepted Hend-erson's resignation at a board meeting in Detroit. Whitacre, appointed by the Obama administration's automotive task force in July, will assume daily executive duties until a permanent replacement is found, he said at a press conference.

"We need to hurry every chance we get," Whitacre said Nov 10 in an interview from his office in San Antonio.