Today we are looking at a press release about General Motors expanding GM President Mark Reuss’s role as well as Doug Parks and Steve Kiefer. At the end of the press release is a biography of Mark Reuss.
General Motors Announces Senior Leadership Appointments
For Release: Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, 10 a.m.
- Mark Reuss to expand his President role
- Doug Parks to lead Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain
- Steve Kiefer to lead South America and International Operations
DETROIT – General Motors (NYSE: GM) today announced a series of executive appointments, effective Nov. 1, 2019.
Mark Reuss, who was named company president in January 2019, expands his role and will oversee the company’s regions: North America, South America, China, and International. He continues to report to Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.
“Our industry is transforming faster than at any time in its history,” said Barra. “Aligning our regional operations under Mark will drive even greater collaboration and speed-to-market, and accelerate growth opportunities in our core business and in the future of mobility.”
Doug Parks, vice president of Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs, is promoted to the role of executive vice president Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain. He will report to Reuss and join the company’s Senior Leadership Team.
Parks has been in his current position since 2016. Previously, he had been vice president for global product programs. He has held a variety of engineering leadership positions since joining General Motors in 1984.
Steve Kiefer, senior vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, is named the senior vice president and president GM South America and International Operations, reporting to Reuss. Carlos Zarlenga, president, and managing director, GM South America, and Julian Blissett, senior vice president, International Operations, will report to Kiefer.
Also reporting to Reuss are:
- Barry Engle, executive vice president and president, GM North America.
- Matt Tsien, executive vice president and president, GM China.
- Steve Carlisle, senior vice president and president, Global Cadillac.
- Tony Francavilla, vice president, Global Quality and Operational Excellence.
- Dave Kuhl, vice president, Global Portfolio Planning.
- Michael Simcoe, vice president, Global Design.
“I am thrilled to be able to hand over the keys to our Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply chain team to someone as talented and dedicated as Doug, who has been instrumental in leading the development of our electric and autonomous vehicle programs,” Reuss said. “He has an outstanding team in place that will keep this company moving forward.”
According to Parks, “I am honored to lead our Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain team, and look forward to continuing the momentum already established by Mark and our exceptional lineup of vehicles.”
New appointments reporting to Parks:
- Ken Morris, vice president Global Product Programs, is named vice president, Autonomous and EV Programs.
- Tim Herrick, executive chief engineer, full-size trucks, is promoted to vice president, Global Product Programs.
- Shilpan Amin, executive director, interior and exterior, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, is promoted to vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.
Mark Reuss Bio
Revised 11/19
President, General Motors Company
Mark Reuss is president of General Motors Company. In this role, he leads the company’s regional operations, including North America, South America, China, and General Motors International. GM’s Global Product Development team, led by EVP Doug Parks, also reports to Reuss, as does Global Design, Global Quality, and Operational Excellence. In addition, Reuss serves on the board of GM China’s joint venture, Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd., (SGM), and is a member of the GM Senior Leadership Team.
Reuss became GM president in January 2019 and expanded his role to include the regional responsibilities in November 2019. In 2018, he added Global Cadillac and Global Product Planning to his responsibilities and continues to lead them today.
From 2013-2018, Reuss was executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain, and led program management of GM cars, trucks and crossovers worldwide. In this role, he oversaw a major transformation of the product development organization in 2018 to increase the focus and development of electrification and autonomous vehicles.
Before that, starting in 2009, Reuss was President of General Motors North America, responsible for GM’s performance, manufacturing, portfolio and dealer network. Under his watch, GM’s North America region produced consistent profits and improved margins during a product renaissance featuring a slate of award-winning vehicles.
Reuss also served briefly as GM’s vice president of global engineering after spending two years overseas as vice president and managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand. During this time, he was a member of the GM Asia Pacific Strategy Board.
Reuss is a mechanical engineer who began his GM career as a student intern in 1983. He has held numerous engineering and management positions, including chief engineer of GM’s large luxury vehicles and manufacturing body shop tooling launches.
He created and led the GM Performance Division in 2001 while serving as executive director of Architecture Engineering. In this role, he was responsible for GM’s racing vehicles, including the V-Series Cadillacs and SS Chevrolets. In 2005, he was appointed the executive director of GM’s North America Vehicle Systems and Architecture, and a year later was named executive director of Global Vehicle Integration, Safety, and Virtual Development.
A lifelong auto enthusiast, Reuss is a certified industry pool test driver on the North Course of the Nürburgring Motorsport Racetrack in Germany and is licensed for FIA C and IMSA Road Racing. His first car was a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro he bought and restored himself. In 2018, he was honored as the Enthusiast of the Year at the Concours d’Elegance of America.
Reuss was born and raised in metro Detroit and is deeply committed to revitalizing the region via education, community, and philanthropy.
- In 2010, he spearheaded a $27.1 million grant to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to improve graduation rates at seven Detroit-area high schools.
- In 2013, he championed the GM Student Corps, a summer internship and career development program for underserved youth in metro Detroit and Flint.
- He was instrumental in bringing the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix back to Detroit’s Belle Isle Park. The event generates millions in economic impact for the region.
- In 2013, he oversaw the purchase of the historic Durant-Dort Factory One, the birthplace of General Motors. After extensive renovations, Factory One reopened in 2017 as a modern, world-class facility that hosts events and holds the iconic Kettering University automotive archives.
He holds a bachelor of engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and a master of business administration from Duke University.
Reuss is a member of the Duke Fuqua School of Business Board of Visitors and is GM’s Key Executive at Duke University. He chairs the Board of Trustees at Cranbrook Schools and serves on the Board of Trustees of The Henry Ford, the Skillman Foundation, Horizons Upward Bound, Detroit Workforce Development Board, the Detroit Education Coalition and the CEO Leadership Group on Regional Economic Development.
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