White House Praises Ex-GM CEO Henderson

Fritz Henderson was in charge of General Motors for approximately 8 months during which he supervised the company stepping in and out of Chapter 11 protection. Furthermore, he was the key figure behind the Opel, Saturn and Saab sale, although all three of them came to no conclusion. But even so, the White House praises Henderson and says the former CEO has done a great job while at General Motors.

Furthermore, the Obama administration underlined that no White House official intervened in the case and the decision to let go (or ask to leave) Henderson belonged solely to the GM board.

"Fritz Henderson has done a good job in a period of transition, but the board of directors runs General Motors, not the president of the United States. We were not involved in any of those decisions," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The news of Henderson's departure were surprising for the entire company, vice chairman Robert Lutz said in a statement, while hinting that GM's board might be the one behind this decision.

However, chairman Ed Whitacre, who will now serve as interim CEO until a suitable person for the job is finally chosen, said in a statement that Henderson himself decided to leave.

"At its monthly meeting in Detroit today, the General Motors Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Fritz Henderson as Director, President and CEO of the company," he said. "I want to once again thank Fritz Henderson for his years of leadership and service to General Motors; we’re grateful for his many contributions. I look forward to working with the entire GM team as we now begin the next chapter of this great company."