Frederick A. Henderson, known simply as “Fritz”, has been with General Motors since 1984 and today (March 31, 2009) he will become the CEO of the struggling U.S. automaker. Fritz will be replacing Rick Wagoner who was asked to step down by the Obama administration over the weekend as a condition for General Motors to receive additional federal loans.

Obama reminded us yesterday that Wagoner wasn’t asked to step due to his failure to lead.

“This is not meant as a condemnation of Mr. Wagoner, who has devoted his life to this company; rather, it’s a recognition that it will take a new vision and new direction to create the GM of the future,” Obama said in his speech.

Back to Fritz. Son of a Buick sales manager, Fritz holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Fritz has held a number of positions at GM with his first significant position being group vice president of Finance for GMAC. From 1997 to 2000, Henderson was vice president and managing director of GM’s Brazil operations. In Brazil, Fritz was known for introducing the small and inexpensive Celta subcompact car and the Meriva minivan. In June 2000, Henderson became group vice president of GM Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and in 2002, he became president of GM Asia Pacific where he was responsible for expanding in Korea and China.

In 2004, Henderson was appointed to chairman of GM Europe and made is return to the U.S. in 2006 becoming vice chairman and CFO. In 2008, Henderson became GM’s president and Chief Operating officer.

Adapted from eGMCarTech

Yesterday, General Motors published their preliminary Q4 and 2008 year-end financial results, posting one of the biggest losses in company history. During the fourth quarter alone, GM managed to burn through US$9.6 billion (net) and suffer a $15.71 loss per diluted share. GM reported a 2008 adjusted net loss of $16.8 billion and a net loss of $30.9 billion, in total for the year. Globally, GM reported an adjusted pre-tax loss of $10.4 billion and an 8.35 million-vehicle slump in worldwide sales. Fortunately, despite the beating taken on their home turf, GM fared much better abroad, ending 2008 with sales in their Asia Pacific and Latin America regions accounting for 64% of their global total. Individually, both GMAP (GM Asia Pacific) and GMLAAM (GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East) each grew in sales volume by nearly 3 percent, while GM Europe managed to post another 2 million-vehicle growth spurt for the third year in a row.

“2008 was an extremely difficult year for the U.S. and global auto markets, especially the second half,” said GM CEO Rick Wagoner. “These conditions created a very challenging environment for GM and other automakers, and led us to take further aggressive and difficult measures to restructure our business.” Wagoner continued, “We expect these challenging conditions will continue through 2009, and so we are accelerating our restructuring actions. At the same time, we are continuing our commitment to exciting, fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and the leadership in advanced propulsion technology.”

Adapted from RideLust