Who was the CEO of General Motors when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009?
Answer
Fritz Henderson
Fritz Henderson was the CEO of General Motors when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.
Henderson became GM’s president and CEO on March 31, 2009, replacing Rick Wagoner during a government-led restructuring effort. GM filed for bankruptcy protection on June 1, 2009, in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. The filing listed about $82.3 billion in assets and $172.8 billion in liabilities, making it one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history.
The bankruptcy reorganized GM into a “new GM” with assistance from the U.S. and Canadian governments. Henderson remained CEO during the filing and the July 2009 sale of the company’s continuing operations, but he resigned in December 2009. Edward Whitacre Jr. succeeded him.
A common mix-up is Rick Wagoner, who was CEO immediately before the bankruptcy process, and Dan Akerson, who became GM chairman later and CEO in 2010. Henderson’s nickname, Fritz, is short for Frederick Arthur Henderson.