Kerkorian: Give aide GM seat

[Guest Josh]

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp.'s board of directors is expected early next week to discuss a possible board seat for Jerry York, a key aide to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, according to people familiar with the matter.

Kerkorian, who owns a 9.5 percent stake in GM, said last week that he plans to buy more shares and may seek representation on the automaker's 11-member board.

While Kerkorian has not publicly identified his choice for the board, people close to the situation say the 88-year-old casino mogul now is pressing GM to install York as a director.

GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti declined to comment.

York, the former chief financial officer for Chrysler Corp. and IBM Corp., is considered an expert in corporate turnarounds and restructurings.

A resident of Rochester Hills, York previously advised Kerkorian in the mid-1990s when Kerkorian built a large stake in Chrysler and later launched an unsuccessful takeover bid for the automaker.

In 1995, Kerkorian threatened to launch a proxy fight to get York on the Chrysler board. After negotiations with Chrysler management, Kerkorian accepted a board seat for another of his executives, James Aljian.

York is known as a no-nonsense financial specialist who helped Chrysler cut costs in the early 1990s. The West Point graduate also played a key role in IBM's turnaround under Louis Gerstner in the early 1990s.

In federal filings, Kerkorian has described his GM investment as "passive" and said he has no present plans to exert control over the automaker. The automaker's board took a neutral stance on Kerkorian's June tender offer of $31 a share.

More: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0.../A01-333052.htm

[usa1]

Having York on the board would be a good thing for GM. The board has proven to be spineless and ineffective for a long time. New blood is needed. Mark

[91z4me]

I don't trust him at ALL. I think he wants to break off GMAC and get the easy money from the sell and then Poof he is gone.

[Ultra Magnus]

What happenned to the days when car guys, and girls for that matter, ran car companies. When did companies begin to think every business is the same. Im no expert but building mainframes (IBM) and building cars arent exactly the same business. Or did i miss something?