GM’s Leadership Moves To streamline Marketing
After organizing its eight brands into four channels, General Motors has made some changes in job responsibilities and titles of several of its channel leaders, eliminating a layer of management at the regional level.
The moves are part of an effort to manage the eight brands in a better way and to eliminate a layer of bureaucracy. In this regard, GM is moving some of its regional general managers to its headquarters in Detroit.
Chevrolet, Buick-Pontiac-GMC, Cadillac-Hummer-Saab and Saturn are the four channels, where the new appointments will be effective from July 1.
Mark LaNeve, vice president of GM vehicle sales, service and marketing said that, by eliminating a layer of management at the regional level, there should be more focus by brand leaders on developing that channel. The new management structure is intended to push a lot of the critical decision making on product, advertising, incentives and dealer programs.
According to LaNeve, “The dealers don’t have a regional manager in their region now; they have a general sales manager here in Detroit.” He further added, “The way it was, the general manager in the region worked on all eight brands in the region. Now the sales manager in Detroit is only worried about the one channel. They’re not on the ground in the region, but they are concerned with the brand that’s on the sign out front.”
Steve Hill, 47, the general manager for the North Central region will become general sales manager for the premium channel. He will report to Mark McNabb, 47, vice president of the premium channel.
Kurt McNeil, 44, will join as Chevrolet general sales manager at Detroit headquarter. He is now the general manager of the South Central region.
The general director of Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail development, Brian Sweeney, 40, will become general sales manager for the channel. Susan Docherty, GM’s West Coast general manager, was named vice president of Buick-Pontiac-GMC this year.
Sterling Wesley, 54, will become general sales manager at Saturn.
Apart from these major changes, Scott Mackie, 47, who is on special assignment as general manager of the Northeast, will get a permanent post in GM.
Other changes in GM included, Kim Kosak, 41, has been appointed as general director of advertising and promotions at Chevrolet. Earlier, she had been the advertising manager at the channel.
Cheryl Catton, 52, the general director of car marketing at Chevrolet, will join Buick-Pontiac-GMC as general director of advertising and promotions.
The executive director of Chevrolet product development, Rick Scheidt, 54, will become executive director of product marketing.
Russ Clark, 54, will become executive director of product marketing at Buick-Pontiac-GMC. He had been the executive director of product development there.
