Cadillac gets new design chief; Adams returns to Europe

DETROIT -- General Motors is shuffling its design executives for the second time in a year, promoting the lead designer for the Holden brand in Australia to the top design job at Cadillac and Buick.

Andrew Smith, now Holden's design director, will become executive director of global Cadillac and Buick design, based at GM's technical center in Warren, Mich., the company said in a statement.

He replaces Mark Adams, who last fall arrived in Detroit as the top designer for Cadillac and Buick after leaving as vice president of GM Europe Design and the brand champion for Opel and Vauxhall.

Now, Adams will return to Germany to pick up his old role as head of GM Europe Design as well as "champion for Opel/Buick brand strategies and design language," GM said.

That will make Adams a key player in solving what GM CEO Dan Akerson described last week as "probably the most complicated Rubik's Cube" within GM: sorting out the brand strategies of Opel and Buick.

Today, GM sells both brands on mostly shared vehicle platforms, and wearing different designs, in the world's three largest markets: North America, China and Europe.

Akerson said GM is working harder to deepen the "synergies" between Opel and Buick and better take advantage of the company's costly engineering resources in Germany, where the architectures that underpin most Opels and Buicks are developed.

Dave Barnas, a spokesman for GM Design, said: "Buick and Opel are developing more joint strategies together. There is a strong desire to have a single point of contact for Buick and Opel initiatives globally from a design and brand perspective."

Officially, Adams kept his position as head of design for Europe even after assuming his U.S.-based Cadillac and Buick duties in August. He was forced to cover both jobs after former Buick-GMC designer Dave Lyon abruptly left in July, just days before he was to replace Adams as head of design for Europe.

Adams has had a high profile as Cadillac's top designer over the past six months with the introduction of key models, including the next-generation CTS sedan, set for a U.S. launch this fall.

GM also promoted Helen Emsley to executive director of global GMC design and user experience. Emsley, now design director for full-sized truck and performance car interiors, will be the "champion for the GMC brand," GM said.

She takes the GMC duties from Ken Parkinson, who will remain executive director of design for Chevrolet worldwide.

All of the changes take effect Sept. 1.

Ed Welburn, GM's vice president of global design, said in a statement: "I am confident that this alignment will continue to unite our global team around its passion for designing vehicles that make an emotional connection with customers."