通用CEO谈未来发展

    通用汽车公司（General Motors）CEO是丹•阿克森进入汽车行业后的第一份工作。阿克森曾是一名电信业高管，任职的公司包括移动电信运营商Nextel、美国电信运营商XO Communications和通用仪器公司（General Instrument），后加盟位于华盛顿特区的大型私募基金凯雷集团（Carlyle Group）。而在2009年，他的职业生涯发生了出人意料的变化。当年，美国政府对通用汽车进行救助，邀请阿克森加盟公司董事会。2010年，时任通用汽车CEO埃德•惠特克突然宣布辞职，阿克森临危受命，成为公司CEO，他的职业生涯再次发生转变。近日现年63岁的阿克森接受了《财富》杂志（Fortune）杰奥夫•科尔文的采访，讲述了他如何使用一加仑汽油驾驶雪佛兰伏特（Chevy Volt）行驶3,000英里的经历，如何使通用更加注重以消费者为中心的做法，他的职场心得以及其他内容。以下为采访摘录：

    问：今年第一季度，日本丰田汽车（Toyota）超过通用汽车，成为全球最大的汽车制造商。这件事的影响究竟有多大？

    答：我更希望通用汽车具有最强劲的盈利能力，能产生最多的利润。说实话，提升汽车产能并不是什么难事。但过度生产却不会产生利润。我们不希望那样做。所以，我们会对丰田表示敬意，我认为他们确实是一家伟大的公司，但我认为我们也非常优秀。通用汽车的复兴，核心在于优秀的产品，我们目前的产品结构才是取得成功的最为重要的条件。

    金融危机期间，由于缺乏资金，产品线的开发也受到了影响。通用汽车公司的研发工作需要多长时间才能重回正轨？

    值得庆幸的是，去年油价暴涨时，我们推出的产品都是真正的节能型汽车。今年四月，通用汽车生产和销售了10万辆每加仑汽油平均行驶里程超过30英里的汽车，是美国第一家取得这一成绩的汽车制造商。这也反映了我们产品组合的转变趋势。我们推出了伏特、科鲁兹（Cruze），今年又推出了雪佛兰Sonic。我们再回到你最初的问题，未来三年内，公司70%的产品将更新换代。

    Dan Akerson's first job in the auto industry is his current one, CEO of General Motors (GM). A telecom executive who had run Nextel, XO Communications, and General Instrument, he had joined Carlyle Group, the giant private equity firm based in Washington, D.C. His career took an unexpected turn when the federal government bailed out GM in 2009 and asked him to join the board -- then swerved again in 2010 when CEO Ed Whitacre decided on short notice to step down. Akerson, now 63, got the job. He talked recently with Fortune's Geoff Colvin about how he's driven 3,000 miles on one gallon of gas in his Chevy Volt, making GM more customer-centric, career lessons, and much else. Edited excerpts:

    Q: Toyota passed GM in the first quarter to become the world's largest carmaker. How much does that matter?

    A: I'd rather be the most profitable in terms of margins. To produce the most cars -- quite frankly, that'd be pretty easy. Overproduce and no margin. That's not the game we're trying to play. So hats off to them. I think they're a great company, and I think we're doing fine. The resurrection of General Motors has been centered on great products, and the product lineup we have is what's really important to our success.

    Development of the product line took a hit during the crisis, when money was scarce. How long does it take to get back on track?

    By good fortune our products that came out last year when oil spiked were all real fuel-efficient models. In the month of April we were the first car manufacturer in the U.S. ever to produce and sell 100,000 cars whose average mileage exceeded 30 miles per gallon. That's representative of how our portfolio has shifted. We came out with the Volt, the Cruze, and we've come out with the Sonic this year. But to your original question, over the next three years, 70% of our portfolio will be turned over and in its first run.

    目前，汽车行业的大趋势是整合，最终形成几家庞大的全球性公司。您认为，在这样的大背景下，要想取得成果，最大的挑战是什么？

    一家公司必须要有长远的眼光。15或16个月以前，通用汽车首次公开募股时，有一件事让许多人都感到吃惊：通用汽车竟然在金砖四国（巴西、俄罗斯、印度和中国）占有如此强有力的市场地位。在全球最大的两个市场——中国和美国，我们的市场份额都名列前茅。我想，这预示着，通用汽车的未来一片光明。

    The big picture is that the auto industry is consolidating into a few very large global players. What are the biggest challenges to succeeding in that environment?

    You've got to play for the long haul. One of the things that was surprising to a lot of people when we were on our IPO trip 15 or 16 months ago was that we have good, strong market positions in the BRICs [Brazil, Russia, India, and China]. In the two biggest markets in the world, China and the U.S., we're the leading market-share holder. I think that portends good things for General Motors.