When there’s retirement, there tend to be retirement parties. This was the case for the legendary “Maximum” Bob Lutz, arguably GM’s most famous (if not notorious) executive since John Delorean – and definitely the favorite of the GM Authority crew.
Maximum Bob decided to leave the executive life behind for the pursuit of writing his still unnamed book and to tear up the sky in his L-39 Albatross and Dornier Alpha Jet A fighter planes. Golf and sailing just doesn’t cut it for the 78 year-old former U.S. Marine fighter pilot.
To reflect on the departure of one of its most hailed executives, General Motors hosted a gathering at its Warren Technical Center this past week. Bob was always a catalyst for change and a big proponent of transforming GM from a company with stodgy business practices and mediocre product offerings to a product-focused machine. Lutz is currently confident in the company’s leadership team, but still encourages workers to speak up on whatever they feel is a bad idea and to always suggest positive ideas (such as this one).
“Being an irritant and pointing out deficiencies in the company and the way it operates doesn’t always make you very popular in the short term, but I did it my whole career, and it worked for me.”
So join us in raising our proverbial glasses to the one and only “Maximum” Bob Lutz (and the statement above).
We have the press release after the jump!
No Comments yet