GM's New CEO Daniel Akerson to Get $9 Million Pay Package

Newly named General Motors Chief Executive Daniel Akerson (pictured) reportedly will receive compensation of about $9 million, which includes a $1.7 million annual salary, the automaker disclosed Friday in a regulatory filing.

Akerson, who assumed the post Sept. 1, will also receive a portion of his salary in the form of stock, totaling $5.3 million, which will be paid out over three years beginning September 2011. The former telecommunications executive will also get $2 million in restricted stock through GM's long-term incentive plan.

Akerson, 61, took over the job of CEO from Edward Whitacre, who remains as GM chairman until year's end. For his service, Whitacre will receive fees totaling $300,000 for his last four months on the board, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Whitacre won't receive any additional employment-related compensation from the company, Detroit-based GM said.

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It will be Akerson's responsibility to shepherd the once-distressed automaker through its planned initial offering of stock, slated for November. The company filed papers with the SEC last month to once again become a publicly traded company. Analysts believe Akerson, who also has expertise in private equity, is well-suited to help GM return to the stock market.

GM has reported two successive quarters of profits following a $4.3 billion loss recorded in the last six months of last year, after emerging from bankruptcy.

In its most recent monthly sales report, the company said sales slipped 25% in August, compared to a year ago. But analysts have said comparisons to August 2009 were skewed by last year's "cash for clunkers" rebate program, which inflated sales for most automakers, including GM.