General Motors has announced that Dr. Thomas Sedran (48) has been appointed President and Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe effective July 1. Currently. Dr. Sedran is a member of the Opel Executive Board responsible for Operations, Business Development and Corporate Strategy. In his new role based in Zurich, Dr. Sedran will replace Susan Docherty, who will depart GM as well as her present role as head of Chevrolet and Cadillac in Europe on September 30th.
“We thank Thomas Sedran for his outstanding work on the Opel Board and are pleased that he is taking the lead at Chevrolet in Europe,” says Opel Supervisory Board Chairman Steve Girsky. “As chief of strategy, Thomas Sedran made a significant contribution to the development of our ten year plan DRIVE! 2022 – not only with a number of measures to reduce costs, but also with many initiatives to raise the profile of the brand and stimulate growth, such as our return to football sponsorship and motorsport.”
Dr. Sedran originally joined General Motors as the Member of the Management Board of Adam Opel AG on April 1, 2012, in charge of Operations, Business Development & Corporate Strategy. Previously, he headed automotive business affairs for Munich-based global management consultants AlixPartners since 2006, where he worked closely with Opel/Vauxhall. According to Opel, he was responsible for developing and implementing business strategies for the long term growth of Opel/Vauxhall in Europe and beyond.
Sedran was born on October 13, 1964 in Augsburg, Germany, and spent most of his career as a management consultant. Before his time at AlixPartners, Sedran worked for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants for over ten years, where his last position was global head of the Competence Center Automotive.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hohenheim, Germany as well as a Ph.D. from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.
The GM Authority Take
This might just be what Chevrolet needs to begin making strides in Europe.
Comments
It is interesting that this had been announced as a decision of the Adam Opel AG supervisory board meeting this wednesday, which then obviously acted as the supreme deciding body of GM Europe. Let us remember that the current CEO of Opel, Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, was also named president GM Europe.
And this “Executive Shuffle” was announced together with other changes affecting GM Europe:
a) a new Opel marketing boss called Tina Müller, coming from Henkel (” a manufacturing company making various chemical products including detergents and adhesives, with brands and technologies for consumer and industrial businesses,” — Wikipedia);
b) “Mark Adams, currently executive director, Global Cadillac and Buick Design and GME vice president, Design, will return to Germany and assume the position of GME vice president, Design, and champion for Opel/Buick brand strategies and design language”, and that he will return in that role to Rüsselsheim, Germany. The quoted text is taken this time not from an Opel press release, but from a GM global announcement GM Global Design Announces Leadership Team Changes.
Mark Adams will return, that is really good news!!! “…assume the position of GME vice president, Design, and champion for Opel/Buick brand strategies and design language.”
“This move will provide an increased emphasis on joint strategies across Opel/Vauxhall and Buick,” Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann said in a statement.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130626/AUTO0103/306260069#ixzz2XOeN9S8y
Tina Müller will also be responsible for the global marketing of Buick.
Seems that Buick will be nearly completely managed by Rüsselsheim in future.
In his new role, Thomas Sedran is not only responsible for Chevrolet, but also for Cadillac.
The same assignment as his predecessor, Ms. Docherty. All two “global brands” of GM overseen from Altdorf (Uri), near Zürich, Switzerland.