GM Names Kaher Kazem Executive Vice President Of SAIC-GM

General Motors has just appointed Kaher Kazem as the new Executive Vice President of SAIC-GM, the leading automaker joint venture in China responsible for manufacturing and marketing the Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet brands. Kazem, who currently holds the position of President and CEO of GM Korea, will assume the top management position of SAIC-GM starting June 1^st.

Kaher Kazem will relocate from GM Korea’s headquarters in Bupyeong to Shanghai in the middle of this year to take on increased responsibilities within GM, leading the company’s core business in the world’s largest auto market as Executive Vice President of SAIC-GM. He will succeed Salvatore Basile and report to GM executive vice president and GM China president Julian Blissett.

“I congratulate Kaher Kazem for his achievements in the Korean business and for taking on a new role,” said current GM Senior Vice President and President of GM International, Steve Kiefer, in a statement. “Since taking office, he has led the Korean team brilliantly to transform the company into a workplace with a sustainable future, and I hope that he will continue to succeed in China, where he takes on his new role,” he added.

Following his appointment as head of GM’s business in South Korea in the third quarter of 2017, Kaher Kazem has performed outstandingly as President and CEO of GM Korea. Indeed, he has led the important task of turning GM’s Korean business sites into profitable and sustainable places during his five-year tenure, successfully executing the division’s business restructuring and investment plan.

Kazem is an electrical engineer with an MBA who has an extensive track record spanning 27 years of service at GM. He joined GM Australia as a senior engineer in 1995 and held a number of key production roles at GM Holden. In 2009, he served as vice president of production and quality at GM Thailand and ASEAN. He was later appointed president of GM Uzbekistan in 2012 and prior to his current role, he was the president of GM India since 2016.

In his upcoming role as Executive Vice President of SAIC-GM, Kaher Kazem will be tasked with further enhancing the image of GM’s American brands in China and strengthening business performance heading into the all-electric era. SAIC-GM is jointly operated by GM and its partner SAIC Motor with a 50/50 share each, managing four production bases where 30 product groups are manufactured.

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