DETROIT -- General Motors' Barry Engle is leaving the company after 15 months in charge of North America operations and will be replaced by Cadillac boss Steve Carlisle.
Engle, 56, decided to leave GM to pursue his goal of leading a company as CEO, Barra and Reuss said in a letter to dealers, obtained by Automotive News.
After leaving Ford Canada in 2008, Engle led three companies as CEO: Tier 1 supplier Agility Fuel Systems from 2011-2015, EV startup Think from 2010-2011 and New Holland Agricultural Equipment from 2008-2010.
He was hired by GM in 2015. In 2019, Engle succeeded Alan Batey, who was at GM’s North American helm from 2014 to 2019.
Engle was a Chrysler-Plymouth-Jeep dealer in the late 90s. His departure leaves GM dealers without the ally who understands their business and resolved many of their issues.
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“He's always trying to come up with a solution," Inder Dosanjh, dealer principal at Dosanjh Family Auto Group, which has 17 dealerships in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in June. "He's very approachable. You text him, he texts you back. You call him, he calls you back. And he's a very good listener."
At the same time, the executive shakeup puts Carlisle in yet another elevated position after climbing GM’s ranks over the past several years. Carlisle is a GM lifer who rebuilt GM Canada and led Cadillac as it transforms itself into the company's EV brand.
Before leading Cadillac, Carlisle, 58, was president of GM Canada from 2014 to 2018. He began his career at GM in 1982 as an industrial engineering co-op student at the Oshawa Truck Assembly plant. Carlisle went on to hold senior leadership positions, such as vice president of global product planning and program management, vice president of U.S. Sales Operations and president of Southeast Asia Operations.
Rory Harvey -- who joined Cadillac in 2018 as vice president of North American sales, service and marketing -- will lead the luxury brand's global operations.
The changes are effective Sept. 1.
Engle was "a strong contributor to our transformation efforts -- first in South America, then more broadly across all operations outside North America and China, and ultimately running North America," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "The cumulative impact of his efforts over the past five years leave us fundamentally better positioned to deliver on the vision of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion."
With Carlisle’s appointment to lead North America, GM will have one sales, service and marketing leader across its brands. Previously, Engle oversaw Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, while Carlisle led Cadillac. Carlisle will report to GM President Mark Reuss.
"Steve will help us scale the considerable transformation progress we have been making, while at the same time preserving the sufficient autonomy necessary to maintain four distinct vehicle brands," said Barra. "This role will build on Steve's progressive leadership within GM, particularly over the past two years at Cadillac. This change will also improve the collaboration and decision making that fuel innovation."
Before joining Cadillac, Harvey, 52, was chairman and managing director of GM’s former Vauxhall Motors unit in the UK. He has held a variety of positions in Europe and Middle East in his three decades at GM.
“Rory has been one of the chief architects of Cadillac’s brand strategy, working with Steve,” Barra said. “He has a strong commitment to Cadillac, its dealers and customers, so we will have great continuity as Steve takes on broader responsibilities.”
