By Greg Gardner & Chrissie Thompson; Detroit Free Press ~ Aug 12, 2010   

The sudden ascension of Dan Akerson to General Motors CEO reflected the board of directors’ need to clarify who would succeed Ed Whitacre before selling shares to investors, according to people familiar with the process.

Any day now, GM is expected to file the first documents outlining how and when shares will be sold, with the IPO expected late this year. The board knew those documents needed to include a candid discussion of who would run the company for the foreseeable future.

As the stock offering loomed, the board pressed 68-year-old Whitacre: How long would he continue as chairman and CEO? Not long, he said.

The board already knew Akerson was the likely successor, these sources say. He was considered a potential CEO when he joined the GM board last July. Whitacre has mentored him, and he has visited plants and listened to marketing reviews. The board notified Treasury officials of the change earlier this week, one source said.

While he has worked mainly in the telecommunications industry with MCI, Nextel and XO Communications, he has worked since 2003 with The Carlyle Group, the Washington-based buyout firm. Most recently he has been a Carlyle managing director and head of global buyouts. He will leave Carlyle when he becomes GM’s CEO on Sept. 1, a Carlyle spokeswoman said.

A U.S. Naval Academy graduate who earned a masters degree from the London School of Economics, Akerson, like Whitacre, has not run a manufacturing company.

He does, however, have experience leading companies in turnaround scenarios where clear goals must be met quickly.

To be successful at GM, former Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, Akerson will have to learn from those involved in GM’s day-to-day operations.

“Dan Akerson is a strong leader with strong views. He’ll need to temper his preconceived notions with a willingness to listen to those who have transformed GM from a product and marketing standpoint,” the now-retired Lutz said in an e-mail from Switzerland. “If he can do that, and I think he will, he’ll be a great CEO."