GM's Preuss steps down as chief of Onstar

DETROIT -- Christopher Preuss, the public relations executive who was tapped last year to steer General Motors Co.'s Onstar, is stepping down as president of the telematics unit.

Linda Marshall, who joined GM in November as executive director of OnStar's global business strategy and development, succeeds Preuss on Feb. 1, GM said in a statement today.

Before arriving at OnStar, Marshall was COO for Revol Wireless, a privately held Ohio company. She also has held senior executive-level jobs at Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless.

Former GM CEO Ed Whitacre named Preuss to lead OnStar in March. He had been GM's vice president of communications.

Preuss, 44, is leaving to start a communications consulting practice, GM said.

OnStar has been adding infotainment features in an effort to keep pace with other manufacturers' offerings, including Ford Motor Co.'s Sync system. Earlier this month, Preuss said OnStar will begin selling its systems in the aftermarket to owners of non-GM cars.

"As we continue to evolve the OnStar brand and bring new features to our customers, we believe Linda's deep experience can take the brand and platform to the next level," Stephen Girsky, GM's vice chairman for corporate strategy and business development, said in the statement.

"Over the past year, Chris was instrumental in helping create a clear vision and strategy for aligning OnStar with GM infotainment plans and entering the retail market.”

Marshall will report to Girsky, GM said.

On his Facebook page, Preuss said he's “proud of what our team accomplished” at OnStar.

“I'm looking forward to taking my experience as a chief executive in a company back into my career-long expertise as a communicator and counselor,” he said.

Preuss addressed last year's shift in disciplines after he stepped to the podium at the Automotive News World Congress last week.

Said Preuss: “The privilege of being on this stage as an industry leader I really do owe to Ed Whitacre and {GM North America President} Mark Reuss -- two leaders who really, I think, personify what's happening at the new GM, by letting somebody move from a functional role and take over well north of a $1 billion operation and get to use those skills to really innovate our products.”

Ryan Beene contributed to this report.