GM looks within for top design spot

DETROIT -- Ed Welburn is the favorite to replace Wayne Cherry as head of design at General Motors, sources at GM and industry observers say.

But four other GM designers are candidates, as it appears the company will fill the position from within.

Welburn, 52, is GM's executive director of body-on-frame vehicles and Cherry's most senior assistant.

His tenure includes 20 years of experience in the Oldsmobile studio and as head designer of the Chevrolet SSR pickup roadster.

Besides Welburn, four GM designers are subjects of industry speculation: Bryan Nesbitt, executive director for unibody vehicles; Anne Asensio, executive director for advanced vehicles; Dave Rand, executive director for interiors, quality and brand character; and Martin Smith, head of design for Adam Opel AG.

"If I wanted to hazard a guess, I would say it's Ed," says Carl Olsen, a former director of style at Citroen and professor emeritus of auto design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Welburn, a GM lifer, is a calm and congenial presence.

"Ed certainly has all the qualifications in my mind," says a GM design source. "He has a unique personality. It takes a lot to get Ed off-balance."

Nesbitt, who helped pen the Chrysler PT Cruiser before moving to GM in 2001, is a respected talent, but at 34 may be too young.

Olsen says GM is leery of installing a design chief for a long tenure.

One scenario has Nesbitt moving to Opel, with Smith coming to Detroit.

But Olsen and other sources say Opel would resist losing Smith, who has not completed revamping design there.

And if Smith were the top contender, he probably would have been brought back to Detroit, Olsen says.

Rand, on the other hand, was brought back last fall from his post as head of design for GM do Brasil.

GM lured Asensio from Renault SA in 2000. She was part of the team that designed the Megane Scenic minivan, Clio subcompact and Twingo minicar.

In January, Cherry told the Automotive News World Congress that he knew who would succeed him.

His statement makes it unlikely that a designer working outside GM has been chosen. It would be highly unusual to secretly hire an outsider who continued to work at another company.

Also, the GM design insider says a newcomer would need to be on board to learn GM's system.

"It seems less and less likely that someone from the outside would come in because it's so difficult to work in GM's complex system if you're not attuned to it," he says.

Outside designers who have been mentioned include Tom Gale, Chrysler's design chief while Robert Lutz was there. Gale is retired.

Cherry's successor will face several challenges, design sources say.

Imre Molnar, dean of the College for Creative Studies, one of the top automotive design schools in the world, credits Lutz with creating "a tremendous amount of optimism and an upbeat vibe at GM design."

But he says the next design chief will have to carry that forward.

"The trick, I think, will be what kind of structural changes they'll be able to implement so that when Lutz departs, the moment in the limelight that GM design is enjoying will be sustained," Molnar says.

Lutz was hired in September 2001 to a three-year contract, but that has been extended.

GM CEO Rick Wagoner has said Lutz's tenure is open-ended.

Olsen says the design staff may have to advocate a youth-oriented design.

Lutz has scoffed at efforts such as Toyota's Scion brand, aimed at young buyers.

Says Olsen: "I think the Americans, not only GM, ignore that at their peril."

The GM design insider listed several other challenges: Managing the increasingly global scope of GM design, attracting top design talent and developing a good working relationship with the strong-willed Lutz, who is deeply involved in design decisions.

Cherry turned 65 last September, and is expected to retire this September.

Although Cherry says his successor has been chosen, the design insider counsels caution.

"That doesn't rule out that they won't change their mind along the way," the source says.

"I've seen that happen. They make up their mind more than once."