GM bolsters international unit

GENERAL Motors has announced the appointment of Mark Barnes as vice-president of sales, marketing and aftersales for GM International Operations (GMIO), which includes China, India, Australia and other regions.

To be based at GMIO headquarters in Shanghai, Mr Barnes was most recently vice-president of customer experience at Volkswagen of America.

Over a career spanning more than 30 years, Mr Barnes has also served as VW’s chief operating officer in the US, and held senior management positions at Chrysler and Hyundai North America.

At GM’s international division, he reports to GMIO president Tim Lee and fills the vacancy created when Susan Docherty was appointed president and managing director of Chevrolet Europe.

GM’s first-quarter financial results released last week show revenue in the Chinese-driven GMIO increased by $US852 million ($A844.2m) to just over $US6 billion ($A5.9b) compared to the same period last year, surpassing Europe for the first time.

Sales for its seven core brands and various joint-venture operations in the region climbed 76,000 units to 928,000 for the quarter, although Holden was down 1.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, former GM Europe and GMIO president Nick Reilly has resurfaced as the Asia Pacific chairman of global automotive consulting firm MSX International.

Although MSX’s Asia Pacific division is based in Melbourne, Asia Pacific managing director Xavier Vandame has told GoAuto that Mr Reilly – who earlier this year retired from General Motors after 37 years with the US auto giant – would not relocate to Australia for this newly created position.

However, Mr Vandame said he was already working closely with Mr Reilly as part of the company’s move to accelerate growth throughout the region, which includes fast-growing markets such as China and India.

Mr Reilly held a number of top positions at General Motors in Asia, Europe and Latin America. He was the inaugural president and CEO of GM Daewoo Auto and Technology in 2002 after GM rescued the bankrupt South Korean car-maker, and is a one-time president of GM Asia-Pacific.

He was also plant director at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port factory in England.

As previously reported, former GM Holden executive director of manufacturing Martyn Cray recently returned to the UK to become plant manager at Ellesmere Port.

Mr Reilly was replaced as the head of GM Europe by Karl-Friedrich Stracke.