General Motors Corp. (GM) Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson will be the likely successor, at least for now, to departing Chief Executive Rick Wagoner.

Henderson, promoted to chief operating officer a year ago from the company's top finance post, had been managing the day-to-day operations of GM to free up Wagoner to spend time lobbying and traveling.

He's had a central role in negotiating with government officials to secure up to $30 billion in low-interest loans to save the company from bankruptcy. While Wagoner was the executive to testify on Capitol Hill as GM pleaded for federal aid, Henderson had been heavily involved in talks with lawmakers and U.S. Treasury officials.

Auto industry critic Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., came to the Detroit auto show earlier this year and met with Henderson to discuss the auto industry restructuring and complimented Henderson's efforts to change long-held patterns at GM.

Well respected on Wall Street for his straight-forward style and ability to broker big deals, Henderson has come under intense pressure this year as the company's fortunes unraveled.

Henderson scored big successes in cutting deals with the United Auto Workers and bankrupt parts spinoff Delphi Corp. as chief financial officer. But now the company is faced with squeezing deeper concessions from the union. Delphi, still in bankruptcy after more than three years, has cost the auto maker billions.

Henderson also initially played down the impact of the subprime mortgage meltdown on former finance arm GMAC LLC, a crisis that has pushed the lender to the brink and racked up billions of losses on GM's balance sheet.

Henderson, a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Michigan, started his career at GM is 1984 as an analyst in the treasurer's office in New York.

-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com