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Cadillac Design Boss Mark Adams To Oversee Opel Design: Executive Shuffle

General Motors has had no shortage of executive-level position changes this week, the latest of which surrounds the design department. GM will send current Cadillac and Buick design chief and GM Europe Vice President of Design Mark Adams to Germany, where he will assume the position of GM Europe vice president, Design, and champion for Opel/Vauxhall/Buick brand strategies and design language.

It will be Andrew Smith, currently director of Holden Design that will be promoted to Adams’ vacated position of executive director of Global Cadillac and Buick design. He will operate out of Warren, Michigan, champion the Cadillac brand and will also lead the Global Color and Trim department. But the changes don’t end there, as the following design personnel is also involved in the round of musical chairs:

  • Ken Parkinson, currently executive director, Global Chevrolet and GMC Design, will be executive director, Global Chevrolet Design and Architecture. Parkinson will be the champion for the Chevrolet brand.
  • Helen Emsley, currently design director, Interior Full-Size Truck and Performance Car, will be promoted to executive director, Global GMC Design and User Experience. Emsley will be the champion for the GMC brand.
  • John Puskar, currently design director, Global Color & Trim, will replace Emsley as design director, Interior Full-Size Truck and Performance Car.
  • Sharon Gauci, currently design manager, Buick Color & Trim, will be promoted to the position of design director, Global Color and Trim, replacing Puskar.
  • Clay Dean, GM director of Global Advanced Design in North America, will now oversee Advanced design projects globally.

With a network of 10 Design Centers employing over 2,000 men and women across seven countries, including United States, Germany, Korea, China, Australia, Brazil and India, General Motors’ design department is the first and largest in the industry. The team, led by Vice President of Global Design Ed Welburn, is responsible for the design development of every GM concept and product vehicle. Welburn is the sixth Design leader in the history of General Motors, and the first to head all of the automaker’s Global Design Centers.

Former staff.

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Comments

  1. This: “Mark Adams will head back to Germany and assume the position of GM Europe vice president, Design, and champion for Opel/Vauxhall/Buick brand strategies and design language.”

    is the interesting part in all this in my eyes.

    This is the first time, as far as I know, that GM has spelled out in an official public document that there is a common strategy for their Opel, Vauxhall and Buick brands.

    This confirms the reports in Automotive News about recent remarks by Dan Akerson reported on this blog in entries Opel, Buick To Expand Product Sharing and Akerson Advocates Opel Adam, Cascada As Buick Models In America.

    Reply
  2. why cant gm just have their overseers stay at one position an keep it! its not good to constantly change up leadership

    Reply
  3. Opel-V-Buick has great potential as a global brand and due to shared parts with Chevy, end up earning more profit than Caddy.
    These days, Buick is close to matching Lexus and at a far lower R&D price than Cadillac. GM will never beat the Germans anyway and this partnership is a perfect fit.

    Reply
    1. “GM will never beat the Germans anyway…”

      Say what now? From a pure product perspective, it already did beat “The Germans” in some areas. See ATS comparisons and second-gen CTS-V. Next up, the 2014 CTS, ATS-V, and CTS-V. This will continue, as GM is here to win with Cadillac — in all faculties of the word.

      Reply
      1. I mean from a sales perspective only. Economic nationalism defines the German market much as is the case in Japan.
        Yes, Ford and a few players sell cars but the Germans derive great pride from there auto sector.
        I see great potential for Opel and GM in general outside of Germany as is the case now in the UK.

        Reply
  4. CADILLAC
    IM DISCUSTED ..YOUR SEDANS HAVE
    LOST THE SPIRIT OF WHAT A CADILLAC SHOULD BE.YES THE INTERIORS ARE FINALLY GETTING CADILLAC LOOKING EXCEPT CHEAP KNOBS AND PLASICS,
    HOW EVER THE EXTERIORS OF THE
    SEDANS ARE A DISCRACE..! CMON NOW
    THE CARS LOOK LIKE A TOYOTA..I WANT A FULL SIZE ..MUCH BIGGER MODEL THAT HAS CHROME AND EMBLEMS AND CHROME WHEELS OR CAPS..ALSO WIDER AND LOOK BACK TO THE YEARS
    OF 48 -65 FOR DESIGN,
    WHILE MERCEDES AND AUDI ARE PRODUCING BIGGER CARS ,,YOU GUYS AT CADILLAC ARE GOING WAY TOO SMALL,
    A CADILLAC SHOULD BE BIG LONG WIDE AND POWERFULL WITH ATTENTION ON LOOKS AS PRIORITY…!
    SIDE CHROME SCHEMES..TWO TONE PAINT…AWSOME COLORS..AND EXPANSIVE AMERICAN DESIGN..
    ONCE AGAIN I DECIDED AGAINST A NEW CADILLAC..EVEN THE ESCALADE HAS A BORING PROFILE LOOK AND BORING BACK END LOOK AS WELL !
    IM A 40 YEAR OLD MAN..I’VE WORKED HARD FOR MY INCOME AND I BELIEVE
    G.M. HAS LOST THAT AMERICAN LOOK
    AND YOUR ALL COPYING MODELS OF
    UN AMERICAN PRODUCTS.
    HOE ABOUT A RETURN TO THE FIN..
    LOOK AT THE OLD BAT MOBILE..
    REMEMBER CONCEPT CARS OF 50 s..?
    PLEASE GIVE AMERICANS BACK
    OUR FINEST..AND USED TO BE BEST AUTO…
    ANTONY VINCE DONAVAN.
    CONTACT ME AT
    PALLMALL181@ GMAIL.COM
    or call me at 917 272 8609
    THANK YOU..PLEASE LET THIS
    MESSAGE REACH PROPER VIEWERS..

    Reply
  5. You want retro, right? I don’t believe there really is an American design ethos anymore because we’re dealing in a global market place now.
    In the old days GM & Ford would compete for the biggest finds; now, GM is looking at ten different companies (Mazda to VW) in an effort to figure out the best modular kits and info/entertainment systems.
    I do agree with you’re point that Caddy and Toyota Camary share lines but Caddy did it first

    Reply

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