Executive Shuffle | GM Authority

GM Announces Major Organizational Changes To North American Operations (With Org Chart)
by Alex Luft
Posted March 3rd, 2010 at 3:49 pm

As expected, GM announced a restructured North American organization with a flurry of key leadership changes across core North American brands, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick-GMC.

GM North America (GMNA) is moving away from a combined sales and marketing organization to one that “enables the company to engage experts in each respective role.” That’s code for matching more qualified personnel with jobs that require more expertise. GM is adopting a flatter structure where accountability is key.

In a press release, GM North America President Mark Reuss said:

It’s become extremely clear to me since taking this role that there is a better way to structure this organization. The premise of the structure is simple — a clearer marketing focus to sell more vehicles, and freeing our sales and service experts to focus on customers and dealers.

That’s an indirect reference to Susan Docherty, who has been relieved of sales and support responsibilities, but remains in charge of marketing. All changes are effective immediately. Reuss went on to say that:

In order to be successful in North America, we need the right mix of product, people and structure. We’ve worked with a small group of executives to align this model and appoint the best candidates for each job.

GM is placing great emphasis on its hope that these changes will lead to an increased focus on the customer, as it places responsibility directly on the executives in charge. We’ve been hearing reports for some time that CEO Ed Whitacre is a big proponent of placing increased responsibility on more employees.

Click past the break to see the revised organization structure. (more…)

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Rumormill: GM To Reorganize Sales And Marketing Positions
by Alex Luft
Posted March 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

The rumormill is at it again, this time – however – the topic revolves around GM’s organizational structure. Automotive News reports that GM will shake up its sales and marketing management in the U.S. as early as this week.

The Changes

For starters, Susan Docherty, vice president of sales, support, and marketing, will transfer her sales responsibilities to GM North America President Mark Reuss.

Moreover, GM will shake up its organizational structure of its four core brands by separating sales and marketing functions. In other words, Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick-GMC will each have a marketing leader that will report to Docherty, as well as a sales boss that will report to Reuss. Currently, the division heads are in charge of both functions.

The Stem

The reorganization stems from CEO Ed Whitacre’s desire to drastically increase sales. Whitacre is also said to be impatient in making sure consumers appreciate the high quality of General Motors vehicles (link).

When Whitacre was appointed interim CEO of The General back in December 2009, he said that Sales and Marketing teams would need to show results quickly. This overhaul appears to be in response to this goal. Since then, Whitacre has become permanent CEO of General Motors.

GM is said to have not yet finalized the divisional marketing and sales assignments. Cadillac chief Bryan Nesbitt was appointed to his position in August 2009 while Chevrolet’s Jim Campbell and Buick-GMC’s Brian Sweeney assumed their positions in December. GM spokesperson Jason Lair declined to comment on the changes. Click past the break for the vaunted GM Authority take.

[Source: Automotive News] (more…)

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Breaking: Ed Whitacre Permanently Appointed CEO Of General Motors
by Alex Luft
Posted January 25th, 2010 at 11:57 am

In a press conference earlier this morning, Ed Whitacre announced that he has been permanently appointed CEO at General Motors, taking “interim” out of his title.

The GM board of directors asked Whitacre whether he would be interested in the position a few weeks ago. Whitacre said that he was extremely honored and accepted, adding “I’m gonna do it for a while.”

Whitacre, who also serves as Chairman of the board, said that this will mark the end of GM’s search for CEO. The permanently-appointed chief said that he will continue to commute from his home in Texas, but will stay in Detroit for longer periods of time.

Whitacre will stay on as CEO for an “…adequate amount of time to get done what we need to get done.” No salary details were given at this time.

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Rumormill: Chevy Manager Behind Chevy Volt Dance Reassigned?
by Alex Luft
Posted January 22nd, 2010 at 2:52 pm

Click to watch the Chevy Volt Dance

A few months ago, GM’s recently appointed VP of marketing, sales, and support, Susan Docherty, responded to a few (hundred) negative comments regarding the Chevy Volt Dance, saying:

Our Chevrolet Volt advertising, marketing and go to market strategy will be as innovative as the car. We may have missed on this one, but we won’t going forward.

It appears she wasn’t kidding, since we’re hearing rumors (through Twitter, nonetheless) that Maria Rohrer – marketing manager for the much-anticipated Volt – has been reassigned to head up Chevy truck advertising. It should be noted, however, that we don’t yet know how much Rohrer’s reassignment had to do with the Volt Dance (if anything at all).

It’s no secret that the Volt is very important for The General’s future. Over the last few months, the Volt ad team – headed by Rohrer – has been working diligently on finding ways to educate the public about the Volt, its features, and benefits. As such, it seems there isn’t any reason to reassign the head of such an important function unless something has gone terribly wrong. As such, we don’t give this report much credibility just yet, since the Volt Dance was not something that damaged the Volt’s image; if anything, it attracted eyeballs and garnered publicity.

Our own Manoli Katakis let us know that the dance crew was nowhere to be seen at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, even though this humble writer extraordinaire likes the song and the dance (available past the break).

Now that Rohrer is director of Chevy truck advertising, perhaps we’ll see a few dances accompany the launch of GM’s next-gen Heavy Duty pickups at the Chicago Auto Show… sorry folks, I couldn’t resist.

[Source: Green Car Reports via @johnvoelcker on Twitter]

(more…)

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Executive Shuffle: Brian Small Becomes Executive Director Of GM Fleet And Commercial Operations
by Alex Luft
Posted January 18th, 2010 at 8:26 pm

Brian Small

General Motors has named 31-year company veteran Brian Small to the position of Executive Director of Fleet and Commercial Operations. Brian was most recently General Director for GMNA Order Fulfillment and Global Supply Chain Center Operations and will also be in charge of the International Product Center (IPC). In his new position, Brian will report to Susan Docherty, Vice President of Sales, Service, and Marketing, who had the following to say about the appointment:

“I’m confident Brian will bring his extensive experience and strong leadership to the critical fleet and commercial organization and make an immediate positive impact. His service at each of our brands on the ground level, working with various dealerships throughout the country, will bring invaluable perspective and customer focus.”

Brian is filling the opening left by Jim Campbell, who was promoted to head the Chevrolet brand in December. Based in Detroit, Brian is a 1978 Michigan Tech graduate and earned an MBA from the University of Maryland in 2006. GM will announce the replacement for Brian’s previous position at a later date. The change is effective immediately.

We have GM’s full press release after the break. (more…)

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GM Appoints GM Europe President Nick Reilly To Head Up Opel And Vauxhall
by Alex Luft
Posted January 16th, 2010 at 12:39 pm

Nick Reilly

After being appointed President of GM Europe during GM’s December management shakeup, Nick Reilly will also take over as chief executive of Opel and sister brand Vauxhall. Reilly replaces Carl-Peter Forster, who decided to leave the company back in November when GM reversed its decision to sell the German automaker (read: he’s opposed to GM ownership).

Reilly was instrumental in Opel negotiations with the German government and served as GM executive vice president and president of GM International Operations. He also held positions as chairman of both the GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Company and Shanghai GM.

Most recently, Reilly told reporters that a minicar for Opel is a “top priority” and that the Ampera PHEV (Opel/Vauxhall-badged Chevy Volt) will eventually be produced in Europe.

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GM Lures More ATT Execs
by Manoli Katakis
Posted December 31st, 2009 at 9:14 pm

Call it a two-for-one deal: GM is replacing Ken Cole, 62, its chief lobbyist, with two former AT&T employees – John Montford and Bob Ferguson. The development is the latest example of Ed Whitacre’s executive recruitment from outside the company. Both Montford and Ferguson worked under Whitacre at the telecommunications giant.

Ferguson, 50, headed up AT&T’s state regulatory affairs and made a stop working at Public Strategies Inc. (a business consulting firm that helps companies with their corporate reputation) before coming on board as GM’s vice president of government relations. Montford, 66, will take the position as Whitacre’s senior adviser and will oversee all of GM’s government affairs. He held a similar position at AT&T as senior vice president of state legislative affairs and also spent 14 years in the Texas Senate. Together, Montford and Ferguson will be responsible for GM’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.

While many do not see lobbying as a vital part (or any part at all) of the auto trade, it is in fact just as important as other activities like R&D. Lobbying is part of that knitting that makes the world go round while helping Washington realize what our favorite automaker needs (such as bio-fuel and plug-in stations) or what is realistically possible (like CAFE MPG numbers).

The GM Authority Take

I see this as a good move for The General. The power of two heads working together (rather than one) should make these lobbyists’ work that much more effective. Add to that the combined experience and successful careers of Montford and Ferguson at AT&T with Big Ed and you begin to get the idea of why I see this move as a plus. GM has all the more talent because of them.

But they better hit the ground running – as this year is sure to be intense and GM has no room for mistakes!

We have GM’s full presser after the break, in case you’re interested. (more…)

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Ex-Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell Named To CFO Position At General Motors
by Alex Luft
Posted December 21st, 2009 at 12:00 pm

After moving Ray Young to head up finance at GM’s International operations, The General was left without a CFO. That’s all about to change, as Chris Liddell has just been appointed vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Motors.

Liddell has been CFO of Microsoft since May of 2005. He will be leaving the software giant on December 31 of this year and will start with GM in 2010. CEO and chairman Ed Whitacre had the following to say about Liddell joining GM:

Chris brings a depth and experience to this job that were unmatched in our search for a new financial leader. Chris will lead our financial and accounting operations on a global basis and will report directly to me. We’re also looking to his experience and insights in corporate strategy as a member of the senior leadership team in helping our restructuring efforts.

While at Microsoft, Liddell was responsible for leading its worldwide finance organization, which included overseeing acquisitions, corporate strategy, treasury activities, tax planning, accounting and reporting, internal audit, and investor relations. Prior to joining Microsoft, the New Zealand native was CFO at International Paper Co., the world’s largest forest products company, having similar responsibilities to those at Microsoft. He was also CEO of Carter Holt Harvey Ltd., New Zealand’s second-largest listed company during his tenure. Liddell also worked as an investment banker as managing director and joint CEO for CS First Boston NZ Ltd.

Liddell, 51, holds an engineering degree with honors from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a Master of Philosophy degree from Oxford University in England.

The GM Authority Take

Even prior to his tenure with Microsoft, Liddell was regarded as a very prudent and successful businessperson. GM needs someone with proper experience and know-how to perform the duties of CFO, and Liddell looks to be the right man for the job. Even though he may not be a “car guy” (something we don’t know for sure), GM needs people with proper business sense who can bring the company to profitability. Having Liddell as CFO and vice-chairman of the board will help make that goal a reality that much faster. We just hope there aren’t any surprises along the way.

Check out GM’s press release after the jump! (more…)

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Brian Sweeney Named General Manager Of Buick-GMC To Replace 9-Day-Exec Michael Richards. Jennifer Constable Named General Sales Manager, Buick-GMC
by Alex Luft
Posted December 20th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

Last week, we reported that Buick-GMC was left without a general manager, since newly-hired Michael Richards resigned to reportedly pursue other opportunities (we’ve got the new scoop about that below). This week, GM put Brian. K. Sweeney in charge of the two brands. In his previous post, Sweeney served as general sales manager of Buick-GMC (since June 2008).

Susan Docherty, GM vice president of Sales, Service, and Marketing, had the following to say about the new appointment:

Brian has played a pivotal role in strengthening the Buick and GMC brands through his work with our dealers and marketing activities. He consolidated 13 different agencies to one dedicated partner to drive a consistent brand message, led the dealer network through a difficult transition and has earned a reputation for tirelessly driving results that benefit consumers.

Sweeney, 42, joined GM in 1990 as a district sales manager for GMC and has since then held numerous marketing leadership positions, including regional management positions in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Detroit. He has dedicated most of his career to Buick, Pontiac, and GMC, but also has experience at Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Saab (which is about to cease existing).

Docherty also named Jennifer Constable to Sweeney’s old post as general sales manager of Buick-GMC. Constable, 47, was regional sales and marketing manager of Cadillac in GM’s Southeast Region since November 2008. She will report to Sweeney.

Constable has been with GM for 25 years and has spent her career mostly in the field, working with dealers across the country – focusing on sales, service, and parts, improving dealer relations, productivity and marketing effectiveness, and developing the overall dealer network.

All changes are effective immediately.

The GM Authority Take

At the present time, we don’t know more than the press release gives off about either Sweeney or Constable. We don’t know if Sweeney is much of a car guy, but having been in marketing, he may figure out for himself that Buick needs to go in a different direction than Cadillac and that GMC needs to stop diluting its brand. Constable seems to be a good fit, having spent most of her time in the field with dealers. You get to know the sales side of things pretty fast that way.

And about the 9-day-exec, aka Michael Richards: some little birdies have been telling us that the reason for his lighting-fast departure was actually a screw-up on GM’s part: he previously worked at Ford, where his style proved to be ineffective and outrageous. We wonder how his name even got past the reference check process with GM in the first place!

In case you’re interested, we have GM’s full presser after the break. (more…)

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Ray Young To Head Up Finance At GM International
by Alex Luft
Posted December 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

Ray G. Young

GM announced Monday that Ray G. Young has been named vice president, International Operations.

Young, who currently serves as GM’s CFO, will report to Tim Lee, president of GM International Operations. In this newly-created role, Young will be in charge of finance within the International Operations organization, as well as other international operating responsibilities that will be further clarified shortly.

Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre had the following to say about the change:

Ray has been instrumental in leading the company through an extraordinarily complex bankruptcy and subsequent actions taken to reshape GM’s business. Looking ahead at the needs of our business, it has become clear that Ray’s vast global experience and financial expertise will be essential in managing the challenges and dynamics of growing our international business.

It looks like Young will be in charge of developing a financial strategy for GM’s international markets, which are mostly made up of developing economies. The change will be effective February 1, 2010. Until then, Young will continue to serve as GM’s Chief Financial Officer until a replacement is named.

Check out GM’s presser after the break. (more…)

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The Changes

The Stem

The GM Authority Take

The GM Authority Take

The GM Authority Take