GM Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl To Retire
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Deborah Wahl, the GM Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), has announced that she is retiring from her position at the Detroit-based automaker.
According to a report from Ad Age, Wahl is leaving The General since being promoted to the GM global CMO position back in 2019.
In regard to this sudden decision to leave General Motors, a GM spokesperson told the publication that Wahl “elected to retire” and “will be transitioning through March 31st, 2023.” The representative added, “We appreciate Deborah’s contributions since joining GM in 2018 and wish her well in her next chapter. We will conduct an external search for a new Global Chief Marketing Officer.”
As a reminder, Deborah Wahl served as the CMO of McDonalds USA prior to joining GM as the Cadillac Chief Marketing Officer way back in March 2018.
“It’s never an easy charge,” Wahl said when first hired as Cadillac CMO. “I’ve been watching Cadillac’s transformation from afar and continue to be impressed with the foundational work that has been done that is fueling consumer interest and intrigue. Cadillac is an iconic, American luxury brand and I am honored to join this team and build on the incredible momentum that will restore Cadillac to its place as the leader of luxury brands.”
Before McDonalds, Wahl also worked as Chrysler’s CMO for 17 months, along with stints at Toyota, Lexus, and Ford in various roles, thus boasting a diverse resume in the automotive landscape.
Wahl was later promoted to GM global CMO in September 2019, a position that had not been filled at GM since Joel Ewanick was shown the door over the Chevrolet-Manchester United sponsorship deal in 2012.
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Apparently, Mary Barra strongly encouraged Deborah to take the “voluntary” separation program.
Barra has only herself to blame for that hire!
Right! Like she made that decision by herself.
I am sure the top “qualification” for her replacement will be “female person of color.”
Only a racist / sexist believes that by hiring the best you can’t be diverse. By requiring “boxes” to be checked first, you will rarely get the best. Sad to see gm wallowing in this crap.
I suspect in the next 5 or 10 years, a lot of companies are going to revolt and end their ESG involvement as it will inevitably create revolving doors and deep resentment with current employees who will be handcuffed and passed over by this.
It sounds and feels good to many libbies here on GMA, but in reality, it’s incredibly shallow. Shouldn’t matter what color or gender you are. Qualified people come in every shape, size, gender, and color….and it’s been that way for a century.
I would have never hired her in the first place her resume shows she is unstable at her job she bounces around like a rubber ball. She can’t fulfill any of her assignments so she walks out before the boss fires her.
But she’s “diverse”…and that’s FAR more important than qualified.
“GM Lifer” comment!
She couldn’t advertise hamburgers let alone Cadillacs…
Currently the product is pretty lacking too. But yeah, marketing has been a very very low spot with GM since…before me. That’s for sure.
Good, new leadership is needed!
Be careful what you wish for. One cannot presume new leadership will be better.
golden parachute, no doubt.
GM marketing was not a high point…… by a long shot!
Her “marketing” of Malibu and Camaro was and is a complete failure.
“…diverse resume….”
The libbies second favorite buzzword, diverse, just has to be used at least once in every sentence in corporation speak. Good grief.
Qualified? Who cares…
Great loss for GM. Best of the best. Retiring??? I don’t believe it. Tangled with someone and she is not in “Club GM Lifer.” Same as Ewanick, Ammann, DeNysschen, and Girsky. Want outsiders as long as they fall in line.
After the $$$$$ Millions the marketing program spent on advertizing the Cadillac Lyriq, an auto that GM could not produce. Every day I was seeing a Cadillac Lyriq commerical, like I could go to the dealer and purchase one. Hell, even today, a year later, you still can not go to dealer and purchase one!! $$$$Millions wasted on this terrible marketing program. This money could have went toward autos that could have used the lift!! And the HUMMER too.
Agree, but not her fault that engineering and manufacturing couldn’t meet corporate milestones.
TV commercial “milestones” are more important than design and engineering “milestones”?
I will always remember the idiotic GMC patty cake commercial for hands-free driving. It was embarrassing and dangerous.
They thought that was clever, when it reality, it’s rather dumb and shortsighted.
WAIT! GM HAS A MARKETING DEPARTMENT????
Good riddance. GM’s marketing today is a insignificant shadow of its once formidable self.
She wasn’t a car person and never understood the culture concept.
Goodbye to her, GM needs to work out it’s problems.
Will GM survive the next 5 years ? Hmm .
GM fast tracker new hire Individuals come and go and the GM Lifers have to carry them and clean up after them ,wake up promote on qualifications and successes plus long time experience like in past GM marketing !
I can’t say I’m surprised. I anticipate Mary Barra will step down soon too because the company has completed her goal to pursue EVs. Now GM will require a completely different set of decisions to manage them, especially with the impending economic downturn. Painful decisions will have to be made, and some of them will undo current plans.
From MCDonalds to GM, a real car person. GM has serious issues.
McDonalds, Cadilac, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Lexus. Sounds like she can’t keep a job.
GM spending ad money on Lebron and EVs that you can’t easily buy was brilliant!
I remember, back in 2004, Chevrolet introduced an all new Malibu. They launched the ad campaign 90 plus days before any dealer received a car. Dealers turned away a steady stream of potential buyers on a daily basis for 90 days. When the new Malibu finally arrived, we had no one to show it to.