The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M.

[1prophet]

The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M

The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M.
By DAVID E. SANGER

WASHINGTON ? It is not every 31-year-old who, in a first government job, finds himself dismantling General Motors and rewriting the rules of American capitalism.

But that, in short, is the job description for Brian Deese, a not-quite graduate of Yale Law School who had never set foot in an automotive assembly plant until he took on his nearly unseen role in remaking the American automotive industry.

Nor, for that matter, had he given much thought to what ailed an industry that had been in decline ever since he was born. A bit laconic and looking every bit the just-out-of-graduate-school student adjusting to life in the West Wing ? ?he?s got this beard that appears and disappears,? says Steven Rattner, one of the leaders of President Obama?s automotive task force ? Mr. Deese was thrown into the auto industry?s maelstrom as soon the election-night parties ended.

?There was a time between Nov. 4 and mid-February when I was the only full-time member of the auto task force,? Mr. Deese, a special assistant to the president for economic policy, acknowledged recently as he hurried between his desk at the White House and the Treasury building next door. ?It was a little scary.?

But now, according to those who joined him in the middle of his crash course about the automakers? downward spiral, he has emerged as one of the most influential voices in what may become President Obama?s biggest experiment yet in federal economic intervention.

While far more prominent members of the administration are making the big decisions about Detroit, it is Mr. Deese who is often narrowing their options.

A month ago, when the administration was divided over whether to support Fiat?s bid to take over much of Chrysler, it was Mr. Deese who spoke out strongly against simply letting the company go into liquidation, according to several people who were present for the debate.

rest of story at link.

Political payback or prodigy

Imagine someone put in charge of Microsoft with no computer experience or someone at Intel with no idea about processor fabrication.

Hopefully he doesn't mess up but all I can think of is ""Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job"

 

[JSt0rm]

and to think people used to die at 31. In this day and age 31 is still a kid. Sweet!

 

[jpeyton]

Goddammit Obama, why can't you nominate and old white guy? There isn't a shortage of those in D.C.

 

[eleison]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Goddammit Obama, why can't you nominate and old white guy? There isn't a shortage of those in D.C.

Yea, should have picked a latina...

 

[OrByte]

I am a bit jealous!



And a Q to the OP - exactly what political "payback" are you referring to? Do you have any evidence to backup that claim? or are you using the Faux news method of reporting "fact"?

 

[woodie1]

Its Government Motors now, what do you expect.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
Imagine someone put in charge of Microsoft with no computer experience or someone at Intel with no idea about processor fabrication.

What does one need to know to be put in charge of Microsoft/Intel/GM?

 

[babylon5]

Good move. He is the fall guy if something goes wrong.

 

[BoberFett]

Wow. Seems a bit young to be making those kinds of calls. I don't care what you think you know at 31, there's not much experience behind it. Sounds like a fall guy indeed.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
Imagine someone put in charge of Microsoft with no computer experience

Steve Ballmer was born March 24, 1956, to a Swiss father and a Jewish-American mother whose family came from the Eastern European city of Pinsk (today in Belarus). In 1977, he graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor?s degree in mathematics and economics. He then worked for two years as an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble, where he shared an office with Jeffrey R. Immelt, who would later become CEO of General Electric. In 1980, he dropped out from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

What?!? No computer science degree? No computer engineering degree?

someone at Intel with no idea about processor fabrication.

Paul Otellini graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of San Francisco in 1972. He received an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in 1974.

OMG, that doesn't sound like an computer/electrical engineer or fabrication technician!

 

[cubby1223]

^^^
jpeton, are you really *that* much of a partisan hack? Ballmer had 20 years work experience within Microsoft before becoming CEO.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Wow. Seems a bit young to be making those kinds of calls. I don't care what you think you know at 31, there's not much experience behind it. Sounds like a fall guy indeed.

Can't do worse then what GM decision-makers have done for the last decade

 

[1prophet]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: 1prophet
Imagine someone put in charge of Microsoft with no computer experience

Steve Ballmer was born March 24, 1956, to a Swiss father and a Jewish-American mother whose family came from the Eastern European city of Pinsk (today in Belarus). In 1977, he graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor?s degree in mathematics and economics. He then worked for two years as an assistant product manager at Procter & Gamble, where he shared an office with Jeffrey R. Immelt, who would later become CEO of General Electric. In 1980, he dropped out from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

What?!? No computer science degree? No computer engineering degree?

someone at Intel with no idea about processor fabrication.

Paul Otellini graduated from St. Ignatius College Preparatory. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of San Francisco in 1972. He received an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley in 1974.

OMG, that doesn't sound like an computer/electrical engineer or fabrication technician!

Ballmer and Otellini didn't start at the top.

1974-2005 quite a few years there with a bit of experience before becoming CEO

Otellini joined Intel in 1974. From 1998 to 2002, he was executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group, responsible for the company's microprocessor and chipset businesses and strategies for desktop, mobile and enterprise computing. From 1996 to 1998, Otellini served as executive vice president of sales and marketing and from 1994 to 1996 as senior vice president and general manager of sales and marketing.

Previously, he served as general manager of the Microprocessor Products Group, leading the introduction of the Pentium microprocessor that followed in 1993. He also managed Intel's business with IBM Corporation, served as general manager of both the Peripheral Components Operation and the Folsom Microcomputer Division, where he was responsible for the company's chipset operations, and served as a technical assistant to then-Intel President Andrew S. Grove.

Otellini was appointed an operating group vice president in 1988, elected as an Intel corporate officer in 1991, made senior vice president in 1993, and promoted to executive vice president in 1996.

In 2002, he was elected to the board of directors and became President and Chief Operating Officer at the company.

On May 18, 2005 he replaced Craig Barrett as the new CEO of Intel

Ballmer

Ballmer joined Microsoft on June 11, 1980.[8], and became Microsoft's 24th employee, the first business manager hired by Gates.[citation needed] He was initially offered a salary of $50,000 as well as a percentage of ownership of the company. When Microsoft was incorporated in 1981, Ballmer owned 8 percent of the company. He has headed several divisions within Microsoft including "Operating Systems Development", "Operations", and "Sales and Support." In January 2000, he was officially named chief executive officer.[2] As CEO Ballmer handled company finances, however Gates still retained control of the "technological vision." In 2003, Ballmer sold 8.3% of his shareholdings, leaving him with a 4% stake in the company.[9] The same year, Ballmer replaced Microsoft's employee stock options program. While CEO of Microsoft in 2007, Steven A. Ballmer earned a total compensation of $1,279,821, which included a base salary of $620,000, and a cash bonus of $650,000.[10] In 2008, he earned a total compensation of $1,350,834, which included a base salary of $640,833, and a cash bonus of $700,000.[11]

In 2009, and for the first time ever, he made the opening keynote at CES, since Bill Gates left Microsoft.

Seems to me they worked their way up, but then again from alot of the posts I see how some people think that experience comes with the position not from working their way up the ranks.

 

[Paddington]

He sounds like a complete fucking idiot.

You know for many years, the complaint about the auto industry is that it's been run by bean counters, i.e. it's been run by guys with the business background but without any understanding of the nuts and bolts technology.

This is like 10 times worse than that. You could at least point to Rick Wagoner and say, "yeah, he has at least some experience in the auto industry. He's at least worked his way up." With the example of this dipshat, he has no qualifications other than having been one of Hussein's cronies. That and as a lawyer, he doesn't even have the bean counting skills of the bean counters. He's just a complete uneducated, unexperienced moron trying to run a company in one of the most competitive, complex industries there is.

 

[jpeyton]

And they were hired to do what? Work in fabs? Write code? Nope.

They were hired to run finances and design company strategies. Engineers design your products. Executives run the company. They require completely different personality traits. This is why you'll see companies that are looking for a new CEO to often consider executives from other companies that aren't related to their industry; an executive's skills to manage a business are cross-platform.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Wow. Seems a bit young to be making those kinds of calls. I don't care what you think you know at 31, there's not much experience behind it. Sounds like a fall guy indeed.

Can't do worse then what GM decision-makers have done for the last decade

He just needs to redo the jump to conclusion mat that GM execs have been using.

 

[1prophet]

Originally posted by: OrByte
I am a bit jealous!



And a Q to the OP - exactly what political "payback" are you referring to? Do you have any evidence to backup that claim? or are you using the Faux news method of reporting "fact"?

Do you know of any other way someone can get a job so important with absolutely no experience, and it's the "NEW YORK TIMES" not Faux news

Mr. Deese?s role is unusual for someone who is neither a formally trained economist nor a business school graduate, and who never spent much time flipping through the endless studies about the future of the American and Japanese auto industries.

 

[Paddington]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
And they were hired to do what? Work in fabs? Write code? Nope.

They were hired to run finances and design company strategies. Engineers design your products. Executives run the company. They require completely different personality traits. This is why you'll see companies that are looking for a new CEO to often consider executives from other companies that aren't related to their industry; an executive's skills to manage a business are cross-platform.

You're about 50% right here.

Consider the case of two executives: Ron Zarella who was brought to GM in the 1990's and was a complete fvcking disaster and Alan Mulally who was brought to Ford recently and did a relatively decent job.

Zarella came from Bausch & Lomb, which manufactures contact lens cleaning solution. There's a lot of companies out there that make contact lens cleaning solution, and they're pretty much the same product. So you jazz yours up by making bright shiny packaging, and see your profits zoom by 300%!!!!!!111!!!!!one!11! He tried the same thing at GM, hiring all kinds of retards from Proctor and Gamble and whatnot in the process, implementing a "brand management philosophy. Anyways, pages could be written about how much of a dumbass he was, but I just have two words: Pontiac Aztec.

OTOH, Mullaly came over from Boeing. Initially there was some resistance to him, given how retards like Ron Zarella had poisoned the well for non-auto industry execs coming in. He also drove a Lexus and as such was seen as being completely clueless with no credibility. But Mulally had experience with a huge, cumbersome manufacturing corporation, that had to deal with tricky unions. He also had a decent understanding of basic physics and whatnot, and wasn't going to go around promising 300 mpg cars that flew within 5 years... He kept it realistic and knew that it was the product that was key. That's why Ford turned around under him.

Anyway, this "Brian Deese" retard is no Mulllaly from what I can tell.

 

[1prophet]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
And they were hired to do what? Work in fabs? Write code? Nope.

They were hired to run finances and design company strategies. Engineers design your products. Executives run the company. They require completely different personality traits. This is why you'll see companies that are looking for a new CEO to often consider executives from other companies that aren't related to their industry; an executive's skills to manage a business are cross-platform.

And which one of these executives in what company lands the top job out of college with no experience at all in their field?

 

[thegimp03]

Should be interesting to see what happens. I'm willing to bet there's a lot of resentment being shown towards this kid with no work experience and who probably knows all he knows about GM because he read it in books.

 

[CPA]

Hey, no worries. Soon your going to have Barney Frank deciding what cars GM is to build.

 

[SammyJr]

Originally posted by: CPA
Hey, no worries. Soon your going to have Barney Frank deciding what cars GM is to build.

Barney Frank couldn't do a worse job than the glorious Republican funding multibillion dollar CEOs.

 

[AreaCode707]

I don't think he's necessarily going to suck at this simply because of his age. It'll be interesting to watch and see what he does.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
And which one of these executives in what company lands the top job out of college with no experience at all in their field?

Deese isn't a GM executive. He doesn't sit on their board. He's part of Obama's task force to write policy that will decide how GM is restructured.

 

[NeoV]

being a member of a task force is not equal to running GM folks, calm down