Is this the face of GM's next chief executive?

SEOUL: Nick Reilly took over at Adam Opel GmbH in Germany five days after 10,000 people demonstrated against General Motors Co's ownership of the unit. It wasn't the first time GM had asked him to win over protesters.

Reilly (pictured above), 59, became acting head of Opel on Nov 10 after GM scrapped a sale of the Ruesselsheim, Germany-based unit to Magna International Inc. Unions had backed the deal as workers would get a 10 percent stake. GM's acting Chief Executive Officer Ed Whitacre made the appointment permanent on Dec 4.

To turn Opel around, Reilly, a 34-year GM veteran, has to persuade workers to give up 265 million euros ($394 million) in annual pay and get seven European Union countries to provide 2.7 billion euros of support. He also has to stem a 9.6 percent slump in sales of Astra and Corsa cars as the automaker is set to run out of cash by March.