GM hires former NHTSA chief as VP of global regulatory affairs

WASHINGTON — General Motors has hired former NHTSA chief David Strickland as vice president of global regulatory affairs, effective Oct. 1.

Strickland, 52, will lead a team responsible for working with regulatory agencies at the local, state, national and international levels on several issues affecting GM and the auto industry, the Detroit automaker said Wednesday.

He replaces Bob Babik, who is retiring Dec. 31 after a 20-year career with the automaker. Strickland will report to Omar Vargas, GM's vice president and head of global policy.

"David has an extensive background working on a wide variety of transportation and auto industry policy issues," Vargas said in a statement. "His knowledge of the issues and ability to work collaboratively with government and industry make him the perfect leader to help drive regulatory policies in support of GM's growth initiatives, including our vision for an all-electric and autonomous future."

Strickland, who has 20-plus years of experience working in government and regulatory affairs, is currently staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation led by Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Roger Wicker, R-Miss. He previously joined Senate Commerce as senior counsel for the Consumer Protection Subcommittee in 2001 — jump-starting his work on transportation and auto industry issues.

Under Strickland's leadership as NHTSA administrator — a role he held from 2010 until 2014 — the agency released the first guidelines for autonomous vehicles.

He also was a major player in the federal investigation into unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles and in negotiating new fuel economy standards with the auto industry.

After resigning from NHTSA, Strickland joined Washington corporate law firm Venerable as a partner in its privacy and data security practice.