DETROIT—General Motors Co. reported Thursday a $1.3 billion second-quarter profit, a stark contrast to its nearly $13 billion loss a year ago, and announced that Edward E. Whitacre Jr. would step down as chief executive Sept. 1.
GM said board member Daniel Akerson would succeed Mr. Whitacre as CEO. Mr. Whitacre, a formerAT&T Inc. chairman and CEO, has led the company since January. He was brought in by the Obama administration last summer to be board chairman.
In December, Mr. Whitacre took over as temporary CEO when then-Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz" Henderson resigned under pressure from the board. A month later he dropped the interim from his title.
The 68-year-old Mr. Whitacre will continue to serve as GM's chairman until year end.
"It was my plan all along to help return this company to greatness and that I didn't want to stay a day beyond that," Mr. Whitacre said. "The transition will be very smooth. He [Mr. Akerson] is aware of the things going on at General Motors."
The move answers the biggest question surrounding the future of GM as the company prepares to become publicly traded again.
Mr. Akerson, 61, is a managing director at private-equity firm Carlyle Group. Like Mr. Whitacre, his experience is heavily weighted toward the telecommunications business. He is a former CEO of Nextel Communications, a wireless carrier acquired by Sprint to form Sprint Nextel Corp., and a former CEO of XO Communications, a provider of telecom services to businesses that went through a bankruptcy restructuring.
Mr. Akerson, who also is a director at American Express Co., was among the new members added to GM's board last summer by the U.S. Treasury after the company's emergence from a U.S.-financed bankruptcy reorganization.
Mr. Akerson has been among GM's most active board members, driving its management to change quickly and break from old practices.
On Thursday, Mr. Akerson signaled his management style wouldn't be a major departure from Mr. Whitacre's. Mr. Akerson said he "shares the same vision" as Mr. Whitacre and, when asked if there would be dramatic changes, he said it is "safe to assume" that won't be the case.
With Mr. Akerson in place as the next CEO, GM can give potential investors a clearer picture of the company's strategy post-bailout. GM is expected to file registration papers for an initial public offering as soon as Friday and is looking to begin selling stock to the public by the end of the year.
GM's second-quarter results will play a central role in bolstering its case that the auto maker is a good bet for Wall Street and investors.
The auto maker is capitalizing on a leaner cost structure created through last year's bankruptcy that left the company with fewer brands, employees and factories and a fraction of the debt it once held.
Meanwhile, growing demand in markets around the world and vehicles that commanded higher prices for consumers in the U.S. are driving up revenue.
Revenue soared 43% from a year ago to $33 billion in the April-through-June period as global production rose 50%. The number of vehicles sold grew more modestly, rising 11% in the same period.
The company remained behind Ford Motor Co., which made $2.6 billion in the second quarter on the strength of its U.S. and global automotive operations as well as on profits from its finance arm.
The profit is GM's largest since 2004 and first time its has had two money-making quarters in a row since that time. GM recorded an $865 million profit for the first quarter. The auto maker lost money from 2005 through 2009 and has been living off a $50 billion U.S. government bailout since last year.
