GM supply chain exec Shilpan Amin to replace Steve Kiefer as chief of GM International

DETROIT -- Shilpan Amin, General Motors' vice president of purchasing and supply chain who helped the automaker navigate challenges throughout the coronavirus pandemic and global microchip shortage, will become president of GM International.

Current GM International chief, Steve Kiefer, has elected to retire after four decades with the automaker.

Amin's promotion and Kiefer's retirement are effective April 1, GM said in a statement Thursday.

"Shilpan's experience leading GM's purchasing and supply chain and his extensive global engineering background uniquely position him to run our international markets and build on the great momentum we have throughout the region," CEO Mary Barra said in the statement. "His leadership during the global supply chain crisis is a testament to his ability to build relationships and manage complex global issues."

Amin, 47, will lead GM's operations outside of North America and China. Major markets under GM International include South America, the Middle East, Korea, Europe, Japan, Australia, Israel and Uzbekistan.

Amin joined GM more than two decades ago as a product engineer in advanced product development. Since then, he has held leadership posts in GM's vehicle engineering and global purchasing and supply chain organizations. GM will appoint a replacement for Amin soon.

Amin was part of Automotive News’ Rising Stars class in 2016, when he was executive director of global purchasing program management.

Since he became vice president of purchasing and supply chain in 2019, he has been faced with a 40-day UAW strike, followed by the coronavirus pandemic months later, the global microchip shortage the following year and many other supply chain hiccups in between.

During the pandemic, Amin's team was responsible for sourcing more than 400 ventilator parts for a wide-ranging plan to scale production of life-saving generators with Ventec Life Systems, a medical device company near Seattle.

"We knew we have suppliers that are capable of making circuit boards and making hoses and plastic casings and stampings," Amin told Automotive News in July 2020, months after production began. "We quickly tried to guess how these components are made and engage the suppliers that are capable of making those components."

Amin also has been central to developing GM’s strategy for reinventing the supply chain for EVs. 

“We're using a whole different set of raw minerals," he told Automotive News in November. "We're transforming the industry, and there's a lot of variability in what that acceleration to a conversion of the all EV the future looks like."

Kiefer, 58, is retiring to focus on the Kiefer Foundation, whose mission is to end distracted driving and all associated traffic deaths and injuries. The Kiefer Foundation was established in 2016 in honor of Kiefer's son Mitchel, who was killed by a distracted driver on Sept. 19, 2016.

GM International delivered its best adjusted earnings in three of the last five quarters under Kiefer's leadership, GM said.

"Steve has been a valued member and major contributor to the GM leadership team for several years," said Barra. "Under his leadership we have turned around our performance throughout the international markets. I thank Steve for his many contributions to GM, and I wish him and his family all the best in retirement and in his important work with the Kiefer Foundation."

Before overseeing GM International, Kiefer led GM's global purchasing and supply chain organization. He joined GM in 1983 in its Delphi parts division. GM spun off Delphi in 1999. Kiefer stayed with Delphi until 2013 when he became vice president of global powertrain for GM.