George Richard "Rick" Wagoner Jr. (born February 9, 1953) is an American businessman and former chair and chief executive officer of General Motors.

[1][2][3] The latter part of Wagoner's tenure as CEO of General Motors found him under heavy criticism as the market valuation of GM went down by more than 90% and the company lost more than US$82 billion.

In an interview,[11][12] Wagoner stated that the worst decision of his tenure at GM was "axing the EV1 electric car program and not putting the right resources into hybrids.

In the Automotive industry crisis of 2008–10, Wagoner came under renewed pressure as GM sought financial support from the U.S. government in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy.

During hearings for government loans to the Big Three Automakers, Wagoner, Alan Mulally and Robert Nardelli were criticized for flying to Washington, D.C. in corporate jets.

However, it cites that he lacked the "ruthless streak needed to make the tough decisions required to bring GM back from the brink of bankruptcy.

"[19] While analysts have praised Wagoner for operational improvements, cost-cutting moves and an increased focus on vehicle quality, with the appointment of Bob Lutz to oversee product execution, others criticized him for his incremental approach to change, largely as he resisted making the drastic cuts demanded by the US government.

[24] In 2018, Wagoner made an investment into YourMechanic, a Silicon Valley startup which connects owners with a group of certified mechanics, currently offering more than 800 repair services.