G. Richard Wagoner, Jr. is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. Rick Wagoner was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on February 9, 1953, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1977. After Harvard, he joined GM as an analyst in the treasurer's office. In 1981 he became treasurer of GM's Brazil subsidiary and later served as managing director. In 1992 he was named GM's chief financial officer. He became president and chief executive officer in June 2000 and was elected chairman on May 1, 2003.

In April 2005 Wagoner took personal control of GM's North American car division in light of its poor performance.