GM Chairman and acting CEO, Ed Whitacre
Outsted CEO Fritz Henderson
It’s bad enough having your firing announced live on national television. But how would you feel if the executive making that announcement treated it cavalierly, as if he was making a new product presentation?
That’s how General Motors chairman Ed Whitacre handled the dismissal of Fritz Henderson. Walking back and forth on a stage, reading from a script. Monitors in the background displaying large pictures of shiny new cars. This could’ve been an introduction of a new addition to GM’s automobile portfolio.
Check out the video below. Body language speaks volumes and here was Whitacre casually telling reporters in a hastily called news conference that Henderson was done. Thanks for your decades of service, Fritz! He even read the words; clearly heart-felt.
Had it not been live TV, it could just as well been a video of a rehearsal in Whitacre’s office. If the audio had been muted, you’d think he was conducting a lunch and learn.