On June 9, 2009, General Motors named Whitacre as chairman. He took the position when the automaker emerged from bankruptcy proceedings on July 10, 2009. On December 1, 2009, Whitacre became interim CEO following Fritz Henderson's resignation. Since taking the helms, he has been dubbed the GM Reaper by many in blogs, noted for his strong desire to "kill off" brands and projects, such as Saab and a sub-Volt Toyota Prius competitor planned for Chevrolet. In January 2010, chairman Whitacre was appointed permanent CEO after serving in the post in an interim capacity. On September 1, 2010 he relinquished the CEO position to Daniel Akerson but agreed to continue on as GM Chairman to the end of the year.