The board of General Motors Co convenes in Detroit this week for the second time since the automaker emerged from bankruptcy under mounting pressure to reach a deal on the future of its Opel business.

The 13-member board has emerged as a key player in the outcome of GM's long-running talks to sell off Opel after it failed to endorse a carefully negotiated deal that would have sold Opel to Canadian automotive group Magna with financial backing from the government of Germany.

Berlin has come out strongly in favor of Magna's bid for Opel, while sources familiar with the matter have said that GM prefers to keep the unit or sell it to a rival bidder, Belgium-based RHJ.

Analysts expect no decision from GM's board when it discusses its options for Opel on Tuesday and Wednesday. They believe GM would likely hold off on formally making any decision until after a German election on Sept. 27 to avoid causing Berlin political embarrassment in the run-up to the election.

GM's board includes members appointed by Treasury, Canada and the United Auto Workers union healthcare trust as well as GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson.

Treasury holds a stake of more than 60 percent in GM, Canada and its Ontario province hold 11.7 percent, the UAW healthcare trust 17.5 percent and creditors from the old GM, now called Motors Liquidation Co, hold a 10 percent interest.

GM is not publicly traded but plans an initial public offering as early as next year.

* CHAIRMAN: Ed Whitacre, former chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc, was selected to lead the new GM earlier in 2009.

* GM CEO Fritz Henderson, who succeeded Rick Wagoner in March after the former chairman and CEO was asked to step down from top spot at the automaker by the Obama administration, joined GM in 1984.

* David Bonderman, co-founding partner of private investment firm TPG in 1992, is one of the most influential figures in the U.S. private equity industry. He was a Treasury appointee to the board in July.

Bonderman has experience fixing struggling businesses - he made his name helping to pull Continental Airlines out of bankruptcy in the 1990s and turning the airline around.

* Daniel Akerson, managing director and head of global buyout at The Carlyle Group, was a Treasury appointee to the board in July.

* Erroll B. Davis Jr, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, had served on the automaker's board through the bankruptcy process and was named to the new company's board with its emergence in July.

* Stephen Girsky, a former Wall Street analyst and adviser to GM, represents the interests of the UAW healthcare trust.

* E. Neville Isdell, retired chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola Co, had served on the automaker's board and joined the board of the successor company.

* Robert Krebs, retired chairman and CEO of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp railroad, was a Treasury appointee to the board in July.

* Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corp, had served on the automaker's board previously and joined the board of the successor company.

* Philip Laskawy, retired chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young LLP, served on the automaker's board previously and joined the board of the successor company.

* Kathryn Marinello, chairman and CEO of Ceridian Corp, served on the automaker's board previously and joined the board of the successor company.

* Patricia Russo, former CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, was a Treasury appointee to the board in July.

* Carol Stephenson, dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, was named by Canada and the Province of Ontario as their representative on the GM board in July.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim, editing by Matthew Lewis)

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