DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co's (>> General Motors Company) new chief executive, Mary Barra, said on Thursday she has no plans to deviate from predecessor Dan Akerson's strategy as the No. 1 U.S. automaker seeks profitability everywhere it operates.

"There are no right or left turns," said Barra, who took the wheel from Akerson last week as chief of the biggest U.S. automaker. "We have momentum. We have a strategy.

"If I had to say it in one word, it's 'accelerate,'" Barra said, when asked at her first meeting with reporters as GM CEO what changes could be made. "It's more about accelerating business results by quickly sharing the best ideas."

Akerson, during his tenure of just over three years, led GM through an initial public offering, drove the company to record profits and to leading positions in China and the United States, the world's top auto markets. On Akerson's last full day running the company, GM announced it would pay the first quarterly dividend on its common stock in six years.

Barra, who over the past two days has met in Detroit with GM's top 300 global executives, vowed to maintain a "fortress balance sheet," which has been a mantra among executives at GM since 2010, the year after the company emerged from bankruptcy. She said strong finances are a must in the cyclical auto industry and would allow GM to reinvest in its operations and to return cash to shareholders.

The appointment of Dan Ammann as president will allow a greater focus in each of the world's regions and on the company's brands, and will speed up GM's plan to boost profit globally, Barra said. Amman's focus would lead to better and faster sharing of money-saving or profit-generating ideas across the company.

Ammann, who was previously chief financial officer, was named president the same day Barra was named CEO.

Barra emphasized that GM's senior leadership is aligned about the company's strategy and there would be no deviation from the plans laid out under Akerson as all the same leaders had input into those decisions.

GM said last week its expected modest growth in the United States and China this year would help fund about $1.1 billion in restructuring costs in its weaker regions, including Europe. It also said it expects a slight uptick in operating profit this year, an outlook that analysts called conservative.

Barra said all of GM's targets remain in place, including hitting 10 percent profit margins in North America and break-even results in Europe, both by mid-decade. She also cited opportunity for the company's luxury Cadillac brand as well as in the Chinese market.

In Europe, Barra said the current vehicles offered under the Opel brand are strong and that focus is now needed on rebuilding Opel's image. "We're not talking anymore about Opel and its existence," she said. "We're talking about the product."

GM in 2013 was the second largest global automaker by sales, behind Toyota Motor Corp (>> Toyota Motor Corp) and just ahead of Volkswagen AG (>> Volkswagen AG). GM was the global sales leader in 2011.

(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Leslie Adler)

By Ben Klayman

Stocks treated in this article : Volkswagen AG, Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Company