????通用汽車(chē)公司（General Motor）首席營(yíng)銷官喬爾?伊萬(wàn)尼克知道自己有麻煩了。被炒之前的一周,，有熟知內(nèi)情的人表示,，他在講述當(dāng)前的項(xiàng)目時(shí)，便已經(jīng)在使用過(guò)去時(shí)了,，而且他看起來(lái)比以往更加安靜,。有知情者稱：“很明顯，他明白有事情要發(fā)生了,?！?/p>

????很快，所有人都知道了伊萬(wàn)尼克似乎還在懷疑的事情：曾經(jīng)的明日之星突然隕落,。7月29日,，通用汽車(chē)用一則簡(jiǎn)單的聲明宣布伊萬(wàn)尼克辭職。通用汽車(chē)發(fā)言人格雷格?馬丁對(duì)媒體表示,，伊萬(wàn)尼克“未能達(dá)到公司的預(yù)期,。”他指的應(yīng)該是通用汽車(chē)與歐洲最大的足球俱樂(lè)部曼聯(lián)（Manchester United）之間價(jià)值5.59億美元,、長(zhǎng)達(dá)七年的贊助合同,。

????內(nèi)部人士稱，伊萬(wàn)尼克沒(méi)有如實(shí)向高層匯報(bào)贊助合同的財(cái)務(wù)細(xì)節(jié),，他告訴公司CEO兼董事會(huì)主席丹尼爾?艾克森,，美國(guó)最大的汽車(chē)制造商在這份合同上的實(shí)際支出比最初與曼聯(lián)議定的金額低了三分之一。（此事被披露之后,，合同被重新修訂,。）內(nèi)部人士稱，面對(duì)與此相關(guān)的質(zhì)問(wèn),，伊萬(wàn)尼克反復(fù)否認(rèn)存在虛報(bào)行為,。通用汽車(chē)拒絕對(duì)此予以評(píng)論。目前,，我們無(wú)法聯(lián)系到伊萬(wàn)尼克本人,。

????到目前為止，大多數(shù)人并不知道,，在伊萬(wàn)尼克離職背后,，當(dāng)事人的個(gè)人魅力和人際關(guān)系到底有多大的影響?！敦?cái)富》雜志（Fortune）了解到,，伊萬(wàn)尼克與艾克森的關(guān)系驚人的密切,，雖然兩人在管理和交流風(fēng)格方面存在巨大的差異。艾克森畢業(yè)于美國(guó)海軍學(xué)院（U.S. Naval Academy）,，曾在美國(guó)海軍服役五年,，他在公眾面前一直是一副處事圓滑、寡言少語(yǔ)的形象,。而伊萬(wàn)尼克于2010年5月加入通用汽車(chē),，他做人棱角分明，他曾經(jīng)的同事評(píng)價(jià)他有一些魯莽,。

????換言之,，他與大多數(shù)首席營(yíng)銷官截然不同。分析人士認(rèn)為,，在數(shù)項(xiàng)預(yù)算中,，他可能并未就分?jǐn)偤吐?lián)的合作成本做太多的考慮。美國(guó)知名汽車(chē)網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的分析師米歇爾?克雷布斯稱：“他以前就干過(guò)這種事,?！逼渌槿耸勘硎荆?.59億美元僅占通用汽車(chē)總廣告預(yù)算的12%,，而曼聯(lián)近期的IPO估值達(dá)23億美元,，成為全球最有價(jià)值的球隊(duì)之一，所以,，與曼聯(lián)合作的開(kāi)支只有5.59億美元,，算不上一筆很大的數(shù)目。

????伊萬(wàn)尼克虛報(bào)合約的行為曝光是因?yàn)槭窒掠腥烁婷?。然而,，雖然這件事被視為伊萬(wàn)尼克被解雇的導(dǎo)火索，但有知情人士表示,，伊萬(wàn)尼克矢口否認(rèn)虛報(bào)問(wèn)題,，決定了艾克森對(duì)他的最終判決。內(nèi)部人士稱：“這件事成為導(dǎo)致他遭到驅(qū)逐的最后一根稻草,?！?/p>

????雖然艾克森與伊萬(wàn)尼克有著顯而易見(jiàn)的差異，但兩人的經(jīng)營(yíng)風(fēng)格都極富侵略性,。曾幫助通用汽車(chē)處理破產(chǎn)問(wèn)題的一名前政府官員認(rèn)為,，艾克森是個(gè)急性子，同時(shí)擁有很好的行事風(fēng)格,。自從2010年擔(dān)任CEO之后,，他迅速在公司內(nèi)部展開(kāi)大刀闊斧的改革。這位前政府官員還表示：“丹喜歡把同樣充滿欲望和沖勁的人才招至麾下,。”

????加入通用汽車(chē)之前，伊萬(wàn)尼克在日產(chǎn)汽車(chē)（Nissan）有過(guò)很短時(shí)間的任職,，他的運(yùn)營(yíng)風(fēng)格與艾克森極為相似,。與他共事的人都說(shuō)，前一天他可能非常支持某個(gè)點(diǎn)子,，但第二天就把它看得一文不值,，迫使他的團(tuán)隊(duì)不得不從頭再來(lái)，想出更好的點(diǎn)子,?！八麜?huì)讓你一直忙個(gè)不停，”伊萬(wàn)尼克的前同事說(shuō),。伊萬(wàn)尼克在現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)（Hyundai）擔(dān)任營(yíng)銷總監(jiān)時(shí),，這種行事風(fēng)格的效果明顯。他幫助現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)提高了銷量,，主要原因是這家韓國(guó)汽車(chē)制造商的美國(guó)分公司實(shí)際上就是一家營(yíng)銷公司,。但克雷布斯認(rèn)為，在通用汽車(chē),，“他必須考慮一些之前根本不需要考慮的內(nèi)部問(wèn)題,。”

????這正是導(dǎo)致兩位高管產(chǎn)生矛盾的地方,。六月份,，伊萬(wàn)尼克在戛納的講話被活動(dòng)報(bào)道描述為風(fēng)趣幽默，討人喜歡,，這無(wú)疑展現(xiàn)了伊萬(wàn)尼克人性化的一面,。據(jù)彭博新聞社（Bloomberg News）報(bào)道，后來(lái),，艾克森因?yàn)榇耸仑?zé)備了伊萬(wàn)尼克,。此外，在社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)Facebook進(jìn)行IPO之前幾天,，伊萬(wàn)尼克公開(kāi)談?wù)撏ㄓ闷?chē)停止在Facebook上投放廣告的決定,，對(duì)此，艾克森也非常不滿,。但很明顯,，當(dāng)?shù)弥寥f(wàn)尼克在與曼聯(lián)的合作中誤導(dǎo)管理層之后，他清楚自己不可能再簡(jiǎn)單地訓(xùn)伊萬(wàn)尼克一頓了事,，也不能再睜一眼閉一眼裝糊涂,。

????當(dāng)然，這份處在漩渦中心的足球贊助協(xié)議最終能否有助于通用汽車(chē)的銷售,，尤其是在歐洲市場(chǎng)的銷售,，現(xiàn)在還言之尚早,。但在未來(lái)幾年內(nèi)，這對(duì)伊萬(wàn)尼克來(lái)說(shuō)應(yīng)該是一個(gè)明智的決定,。

????如今,，前首席營(yíng)銷官顯得非常低調(diào)。在被辭退的消息傳出后,，他便陪同家人來(lái)到密歇根北部度假,。有傳言稱，他將寫(xiě)一本書(shū),，或者進(jìn)行巡回演講,，但這些都只是猜測(cè)，我們并不知道伊萬(wàn)尼克會(huì)選擇哪條路,。有熟知內(nèi)情的人表示：“一切來(lái)得太快了,。他現(xiàn)在還沒(méi)有完全消化?！?/p>

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Joel Ewanick, General Motor's chief marketing officer, knew trouble was brewing. During the week leading up to his ouster, sources familiar with the situation say he had started to refer to current projects in the past tense and seemed quieter than usual. "It was kind of clear he knew something was going to happen," one source says.

????The rest of the world quickly learned what Ewanick apparently suspected: the once-rising star had flamed out. On July 29, GM (GM) announced Ewanick's resignation through a terse statement and GM spokesman Greg Martin told the press, Ewanick "failed to meet the expectations the company has of an employee." The failure centered on the $559 million, seven-year sponsorship deal GM inked with Manchester United, Europe's largest soccer team.

????Insiders say Ewanick misrepresented the deal to upper management, telling CEO and chairman Daniel Akerson that the largest automaker in the U.S. was spending about a third less on the deal than what was originally agreed upon with Manchester United. (Upon the revelation, the deal was reworked.) When confronted about the situation, Ewanick repeatedly denied the misrepresentation, insiders say. GM declined further comment. Ewanick couldn't be reached for comment.

????What hasn't been widely known until now was the degree to which personal dynamics -- and personal relationships -- played a role in Ewanick's departure. Fortune has learned that Ewanick and Akerson were surprisingly close, despite deep differences in their management and communications styles. Akerson, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who served in the Navy for five years, is polished and buttoned-up in public settings while Ewanick, who joined GM in May 2010, is rough around the edges, and some former colleagues describe him as a bit impetuous.

????In other words, he's not unlike a lot of marketing executives. And analysts suggest he probably didn't think twice about spreading the cost of the Manchester United deal among several budgets. "It's the kind of thing that's been done in the past," says Edmunds.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs. Other sources add that $559 million is only 12 percent of GM's entire advertising budget – a small amount to spend on a deal with Manchester United, whose recent IPO valued one of the most valuable sports franchise in the world at $2.3 billion.

????But while the deal misrepresentation, which was brought to light by a whistleblower within Ewanick's division, sparked the ouster, sources say that Ewanick's denial of it sealed his fate with Akerson. "That may have been the final straw," an insider says.

????For all their outward differences, Akerson and Ewanick shared an aggressive operating style. A former administration official who helped GM through its bankruptcy describes Akerson as impatient "in a good way;" he's moved quickly through the company to make changes since taking over as CEO in 2010. The former official adds, "Dan wants to bring in guys who share his hunger and drive."

????Ewanick, who spent a brief stint at Nissan (NSANY) before joining GM, operated in a similar fashion. People who worked with him say he might rally behind an idea one day and squash it the next, forcing his team to go back to square one to find something better. "He really kept you on your toes," says one person who worked with Ewanick. That style worked well for the marketing guru at Hyundai, where he helped spur sales, because the U.S. arm of the Korean automaker essentially operated as a marketing firm. But at GM, "he had to pay attention internally on levels he never had to think about on an import," Krebs says.

????And that's where tension arose between the two executives. When Ewanick cursed during a talk in Cannes in June, a source at the event describes it as funny and endearing, putting a human face on Ewanick. Akerson later chastised the marketing exec for the incident, according to Bloomberg News. Similarly, Akerson wasn't pleased when Ewanick publicly discussed GM's decision to pull its advertising from Facebook (FB) days before the social networking firm's IPO. But apparently Akerson felt he could not simply scold or look the other way when he learned Ewanick misled management about the Manchester United dealings.

????Of course it's too early to tell whether the soccer sponsorship at the center of the maelstrom ultimately will help GM's sales, particularly in Europe. But Years from now, it may look like a brilliant move on Ewanick's part.

????In the meantime the former marketing chief is lying low. After the news of his resignation broke he took his family to upstate Michigan for vacation. And there's speculation that he may write a book or go on a speaking circuit, though it's unclear if Ewanick will go that route. "It happened so quickly," says a source familiar with the situation. "He's still processing it all."