By John Reed in London and Tom Braithwaite in Washington
General Motors ousted Fritz Henderson as chief executive on Tuesday night in a surprise move that will see ailing US government-controlled carmaker get its second new boss in less than a year.
GM directors – who include Ed Whitacre, chairman and now interim chief executive, and David Bonderman, co-founder of private equity firm TPG – decided that the company would be better going into its intial public offering with a different chief executive, according to people familiar with the situation. “I don't think anyone thought it [Mr Henderson's tenure] was a disaster,” said one person. “This is a killer board.”