From cars to coke: Sunoco hires former GM CEO

Sunoco Inc. has hired former General Motors Co. chief executive Frederick A. "Fritz" Henderson to lead its SunCoke subsidiary, which the Philadelphia refiner is spinning off next year.

The veteran auto executive, who was ousted from GM in December, will take over the profitable business unit that produces blast-furnace coke. Sunoco announced in June that it would separate SunCoke Energy Inc. in the first half of 2011.

Sunoco chief executive Lynn L. Elsenhans announced the appointment after markets closed Thursday.

"Fritz is an exceptionally gifted and highly experienced executive with the business and financial expertise needed to lead SunCoke Energy as an independent company and drive its global growth strategy," Elsenhans said in a statement.

Henderson, 52, led GM out of bankruptcy last year after it was saved by a huge federal bailout. But the company's board asked him to resign after eight months as chief executive because of the slow pace of the turnaround.

"My biggest strength is I've been with GM for 25 years," Henderson reportedly remarked, "and my biggest weakness is that I have been with GM for 25 years."

Henderson is joining Sunoco as a senior vice president, but he will become chief executive and chairman of SunCoke after the separation. SunCoke is based in Knoxville, Tenn.

Michael J. Thomson, president of SunCoke since 2008, will assume the additional role of chief operating officer.

When Elsenhans announced the SunCoke divestiture, she said the coke business had little overlap with Sunoco's core refining and marketing operation. Coke, which is produced from coal, is used as fuel for smelting iron ore in blast furnaces.

SunCoke has been a strong performer, accounting for net income last year of $180 million on sales of $1.12 billion. Company officials expect sales to double in a decade as competing coke operations shut down.

Sunoco in 1979 acquired the coke unit, which included the rights to a proprietary technology that reduces emissions and reuses the heat. Coke is produced by baking coal at high temperatures to burn off volatile compounds.

The company produces coal from mines in Virginia and West Virginia. It produces coke in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois. It also is building a plant in Middletown, Ohio, and operates a plant in Brazil.

Until his ouster, Henderson had a stellar career at GM He had headed its operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America and served as chief financial officer and president before becoming chief executive.