GM Announces Leadership Changes…Again

7th December 2009

Last week, GM’s new (and third one this year) CEO Ed Whitacre announced major leadership changes, moving swiftly to put a management structure in place that he and the board feel will better position GM for continued growth and profitability. Gone is the change that Fritz Henderson made, splitting sales from marketing. Sales and marketing are now recombined under Susan Docherty, newly appointed as VP of Vehicle Sales, Service & Marketing (”VSSM”, which also includes Service Parts and OnStar).

Bob Lutz, who was put in charge of marketing and public relations in the previous shakeup, is going back to the product side, where he will be a special advisor to Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre on product and design.

So where does this leave Tom Stephens, who assumed the title of vice chairman of global product development when Lutz went to marketing? Tom must have been thinking that Pete Townshend had taken over GM. ”Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…” Whitacre tossed a bone to Stephens by adding purchasing to his responsibilities, but if this newest realignment doesn’t work, Stephens won’t get fooled again.

Perhaps the biggest change of all, though, is the reappearance of a president of North America, a job that went away earlier this year when Troy Clarke “resigned”. Mark Reuss, who only recently was repatriated to North America as VP of Engineering, is appointed President of North America.

Aside from the obvious issues with leadership churn, I think these changes mostly make sense. Sales, service and marketing belong together, and it makes sense to have somebody in charge at the North American level. When the General dismantled North America, it tried to globalize everything, including marketing. Sales and marketing, by their very nature, are not global. They are regional or local.

More than anything else, the new “temporary” CEO is promoting people into positions of power that will have loyalty to him, not the previous regimes. And it sends a signal to the rest of the company that he is serious about accountability in the organization going forward.

That’s what I think - how about you? Please leave your comments below.

There were other changes as well. See the full announcement below.

To improve accountability and responsibility for market performance in North America and around the world, several key leadership changes were announced today by GM Chairman and CEO, Ed Whitacre.

“I want to give people more responsibility and authority deeper in the organization and then hold them accountable,” Whitacre said. “We’ve realigned our leadership duties and responsibilities to help us meet our mission to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles.”

Mark Reuss is named president of GM North America. Reuss was briefly vice president of Engineering after leading GM’s Holden operations in Australia in 2008. Reporting to Reuss will be Susan E. Docherty, who is appointed vice president, Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing operations. Also aligned under the new North American group will be Diana D. Tremblay, who is named vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations. Tremblay was most recently vice president of Labor Relations. Denise C. Johnson is named vice president, Labor Relations. Johnson was most recently vehicle line director and chief engineer for Global Small Cars.

Nick Reilly is named president, GM Europe. Reilly has been leading the restructuring efforts in Europe with the Opel/Vauxhall operations and will leave his role leading GM International Operations.

Tim Lee is named president of GM International Operations, overseeing GM’s Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, and Middle East operations. Lee was most recently group vice president, Manufacturing and Labor Relations.

Bob Lutz remains vice chairman and will act as advisor on design and global product development.

Thomas G. Stephens remains vice chairman of Global Product Operations, and will now take on global purchasing in his organization, which will continue to be lead by Robert E. Socia, vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. Karl-Friedrich Stracke is appointed vice president, Engineering, reporting to Stephens. Stracke was most recently executive director of Engineering.

J. Christopher Preuss, vice president, Communications, will now report to Whitacre; he previously reported to Lutz.

The balance of the direct report staff remains unchanged and includes CFO Ray G. Young; John F. Smith, vice president Corporate Planning and Alliances; Terry Kline, vice president IS&S; Mary T. Barra, vice president Human Resources; Mike Millikin, vice president of Legal; and Ken W. Cole, vice president Government Relations and Public Policy.