GM CEO: Batey is a future leader
 | Batey: Heading for Chevy job? |
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DETROIT -- General Motors U.S. sales chief Alan Batey has impressed his bosses, as evidenced by his two promotions in the last six months.
"He's done a terrific job -- really stepped up," General Motors CEO Dan Akerson told Automotive News last month.
In June, Batey, a 49-year-old Brit, became GM's vice president of U.S. sales and service, after holding the same job at Chevrolet since March 2010. Then, in August, Akerson made him interim global chief marketing officer to fill the role vacated by Joel Ewanick, who was ousted in July.
Akerson lauded Batey's international experience. The GM lifer has worked mostly in sales and marketing jobs in Korea, Germany, Dubai and several other countries. He also ran GM's Holden Australian unit in 2009 and early 2010.
Akerson wouldn't say whether he's considering Batey to be the global head of Chevrolet, a position the CEO is considering as he seeks to accelerate Chevy's growth worldwide. Akerson said that deep overseas experience would be important in that role if he decides to create the new post, since Chevrolet and Cadillac are to be GM's two global brands.
"I don't want to talk about specific decisions, but Alan is truly one of our future leaders of this company," Akerson said. "He's an incredibly capable executive.
You can reach Mike Colias at mcolias@crain.com.
