GM Appoints Alan Wexler As Senior Vice President, Innovation And Growth

General Motors has created a new position within its upper ranks: senior vice president of Innovation and Growth.

This new role has been filled by Alan Wexler, the former chairman and CEO of digital business transformation firm Publicis Sapient. GM says Wexler “will be responsible for creating, executing and sustaining overall corporate strategies, including identifying future growth opportunities and driving innovation throughout the company.” He will report directly to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

Alan Wexler

“Alan brings a proven track record and decades of experience leading a culture of innovation and customer-driven technology solutions,” Barra said in a prepared statement released this week. “With Alan’s background, he is well-positioned to help accelerate our transformation by challenging the status quo, disrupting the business and executing strategies that will lead to future growth.”

GM also said the newly created Innovation and Growth team that Wexler will oversee “will bring together several teams within the company focused on innovation and future growth opportunities, including Global Connected Services, Data and Customer Insights, and Innovation and Strategy teams.”

As the former CEO of Publicis Sapient, a consulting firm that helps established companies pivot into today’s more connected, data-driven world, Alan Wexler has the knowledge to help lead GM into the digital era. He founded and ran his own technology consulting firm prior to joining Sapient in 1998 and held numerous high-ranking positions with the company before becoming CEO. Wexler holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a master’s degree in business administration from New Jersey’s Rider University.

GM will continue to place an emphasis on data and customer insights in the coming years as it leverages customer information acquired through OnStar and GM Marketplace. These insights can also be used to its advantage when developing technology like its Cruise Origin autonomous shuttle, for example.

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