CNBC's LeBeau is one to watch

Sarah Webster, the automotive editor at the Detroit Free Press, names the 10 people in the auto industry to watch in 2009 and includes CNBC automotive reporter Phil LeBeau.

Webster writes, “If you live and breathe autos, chances are good that CNBC is probably your regular TV backdrop and Phil LeBeau is a name you know. There are a lot of good national automotive journalists to include on this list, but none have so much individual reach or influence in the general business community — and how they think about Detroit — as LeBeau does.

“While LeBeau works out of Chicago, he’s a frequent visitor to the Motor City, where he often does live broadcasts from the GM, Ford or Chrysler headquarters. Unlike a lot of the national media who’ve been chipping in their uninformed 2 cents about Detroit’s auto industry, LeBeau gets an A-plus for actually knowing what he’s talking about.

“As the feds get more familiar with, and financially invested in, Detroit’s auto industry, expect to see more LeBeau on NBC’s ‘The Today Show’ and ‘Nightly News,’ where he’ll be influencing how Americans think about the Detroit Three.”

Read more here.