DETROIT – Can the deeply ingrained culture of a 100-year-old company be transformed by an insider who has never worked anywhere else?

Fritz Henderson thinks so, and he's determined to prove that his 25 years with General Motors is an asset, not a liability, as he attempts to lead a turnaround at the bankrupt auto giant.

Henderson, 50, became GM's chief executive after his boss and mentor, Rick Wagoner, was forced out in March by President Barack Obama's special auto task force.

Since then, Henderson has been trying to overcome any perceptions that he cannot make the tough changes GM needs to survive.

Henderson said this week that changes are coming at GM that will demonstrate his willingness to break from the past. For example, Henderson said that by the end of the year, GM will reduce its executive ranks by 35 percent from 2008 levels.

GM has rarely fired or forced senior executives out, preferring to move them into smaller roles or usher them quietly into retirement.

"We need a simpler structure," Henderson said. "You're going to see fewer familiar faces around here."

For Henderson, the clock is running on whether he can lead GM to prosperity. Ultimately, that will be decided by consumers and whether they buy GM vehicles that the company has promised to improve.

Henderson told a congressional panel last week that his company has been slowed by too many dealers and other factors.

In total, GM is expected to reduce dealers by 2,500 through the shuttering of dealerships, anticipated attrition and the shedding of its Saturn, Hummer, Pontiac and Saab lines.

In the short term, Henderson will have to impress GM's new majority owner – the federal government – and a revamped board of directors. The company will get a new chairman, Ed Whitacre, former AT&T chief executive, and several new directors by the end of the summer. One of the reconstituted board's first tasks will be to evaluate whether Henderson deserves the more permanent status of running the company.

"It is something we certainly have to talk about," said Kent Kresa, who is serving as interim GM chairman until Whitacre joins the board.

"This is an area the new board will focus on quite early, and make some decisions."

Henderson is acutely aware of the notion, echoed in many quarters, that GM needs an outsider to overhaul its organization, much like former Boeing executive Alan Mulally has done as the chief of Ford Motor Co.

But he dismisses any suggestion that he cannot fix GM because he has spent his whole professional life there.

Henderson faces the balance of distancing himself from the decisions and personal style of Wagoner.

"Fritz might be 20 percent better than Wagoner, or maybe 50 percent better," said Jerome York, a former GM director. "But the question is, is that good enough?"

Henderson has two rules for himself and other GM lifers if they are to succeed in reviving the company.

"I have to listen," he said. "Listening to others is a key skill. Secondly, I never declare victory too soon. Get the job done first before you talk about it."

The New York Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

What's new: Wednesday marked Detroit-based GM's 17th day under court protection. GM chief executive Fritz Henderson said Wednesday that the automaker is planning strategies around higher oil prices, betting that crude oil could eventually revisit the $100- to $130-per-barrel cost. He also said vehicle sales in China will probably surpass U.S. sales this year, making it the largest automotive market in the world.

What's next: GM's next bankruptcy court hearing is set for today. A hearing on the proposed sale of the bulk of GM's assets to a new company is scheduled for June 30.

SOURCE: The Associated Press