GM CEO steps down

General Motors Company chief Ed Whitacre said Thursday he's stepping down as CEO on September 1, his mission accomplished as the company reported its second straight quarterly profit.

Whitacre, 68, will be replaced by GM board member Daniel Akerson. Like Whitacre, Akerson has a background of leading telecommunications companies.

Akerson, 61, will be GM's fourth CEO in 18 months when he takes over the job. He could be the executive who takes GM public again if an expected public offering takes place later this year.

In a conference call with analysts and media, Whitacre didn't directly address a question about whether executives with automotive experience were considered for the job. He said Akerson has learned the auto business in his year on the board.

"Dan has been involved every step of the way," Whitacre said. "He knows this business from a board perspective and also from personal conversations. So I think he's absolutely the right choice."

Bob Lutz, a former vice-chairman of GM who retired earlier this year, said in an email that Akerson doesn't need auto experience to run GM because it has a solid management team of industry experts. But he does need to listen to that team, Lutz said

"He's very strong, very opinionated, not always right, and needs to work on listening skills," Lutz said. "If he can bring himself to trust his now-outstanding senior executive group and lead, rather than direct, I think he'll do an outstanding job."

Whitacre, Lutz said, had no industry experience but focused the company on designing and building world-class cars and trucks.

Whitacre was named GM's chairman last July when the automaker emerged from bankruptcy protection. After he ousted CEO Fritz Henderson, Whitacre was named interim CEO in December and became permanent CEO in January.

- AP