GM puts 2 newcomers in pivotal roles

General Motors is putting its manufacturing operations under the oversight of a former Tesla Inc. executive who scaled up production at the electric vehicle maker's largest battery plant.

GM also needs a new leader for its burgeoning software unit after the Apple Inc. alum it hired less than a year ago decided to step down for health reasons.

Both are critical and increasingly related roles as the automaker moves further into electrification and builds more technology into its vehicles with the goal of unlocking major new revenue streams.

"It's not just about labor anymore, or about building a plant, or what's the asset utilization, although that stuff always is important," said Mike Ramsey, an automotive analyst at Gartner. "Today, a manufacturing executive has to be a technology wizard. What are all of the ways that you can use digital technologies to build products less expensively but also more flexibly?"

Jens Peter Clausen, who in addition to Tesla has experience at Google and the toy company Lego, will become executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability April 2, GM said this week. Clausen, 52, succeeds Gerald Johnson, who will retire at the end of 2023 after assisting with the transition.

Separately, Mike Abbott, who led cloud services at Apple before joining GM in May as executive vice president of software and services, said he is stepping down because of a heart condition that has not improved since late last year.

GM's software and services team will be led on an interim basis starting April 2 by Baris Cetinok, who came to the automaker six months ago by way of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. GM is seeking a permanent successor for Abbott, 51, who has been restructuring the automaker's software organization and culture.

GM has expanded its reach into Silicon Valley, both to fill leadership roles and to recruit rank-and-file software talent. The automaker has said software and subscription services could generate revenue of $20 billion to $25 billion in 2030.

GM said Clausen brings experience in global manufacturing and product engineering, including at biotech company Zymergen, where he became senior vice president of global manufacturing in 2018. Before that, he was a vice president at Tesla's Nevada gigafactory and worked at Lego for more than a decade. He most recently was an engineering vice president at Google Data Centers.

"JP's unique expertise in global manufacturing innovation, engineering, and operations will accelerate our ability to deliver on our vision for GM with the highest quality vehicles for our customers," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "We are excited to welcome him to the team and know that his contributions will be instrumental to our future."

Ramsey said automakers have been looking for outside perspectives and Clausen's experience scaling a battery plant could be beneficial to GM while ramping up its own battery production at joint-venture plants with LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI.

"It's as much about changing the culture of how they do things as it is about their background and experience," Ramsey said. "They just want people who have done it another way to come in and not follow the way things have always been done."

GM said Abbott was not available for an interview this week, but in a LinkedIn post Tuesday, he said he was "proud of the impact" his team had during his short tenure.

"I leave incredibly confident in that team of VPs in software and services that represent the best of any automaker out there," Abbott wrote. "Some have long-served at GM and some have joined from Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon and more. Together in short order, they accomplished sweeping organizational and process changes that have already shown immediate improvements in software development, validation and quality. They are just getting started on what I know will be great things to come for GM."

In a statement, Barra called Abbott's contributions "invaluable," adding that he will remain an adviser as his health allows and that she has "the utmost trust in the strong bench of leaders in place."

Cetinok, 51, has been vice president of product for software and services at GM. He worked for Apple from 2012 to 2021, on products such as iCloud and Apple Pay, and overlapped with Abbott for a few years. Before that, he spent about 16 years combined at Microsoft and Amazon.

"We all love good challenges, big challenges," Cetinok said in an interview March 8, before Abbott announced his departure. "We're going to have fun building the next chapter."

It will be "essential" for GM's next software leader to have tech experience because automakers now frequently update vehicles' software after they're sold, said Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights. One reason GM brought in Abbott, he said, was to help the company do that efficiently and reliably.

Given the importance of generating new revenue streams from software and services to automakers, Abuelsamid said, "this is going to be essential to get this right."

Johnson, 61, spent 44 years with GM. He led global manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, labor relations and sustainability. Last fall, he helped lead GM's negotiations with the UAW on a new labor contract.

"Gerald's leadership, vision and relentless pursuit of excellence in manufacturing have left an indelible mark on GM," Barra said. "His impactful journey from joining the Fisher Body Plant in Euclid, Ohio, to his integral role in GM's COVID-19 emergency response, is a testament to his unwavering commitment and dedication."

Johnson said Tuesday in a LinkedIn post that he plans to spend time with his family, including his grandchildren, and continue to serve as lead pastor at The Gathering Church in suburban Detroit.

"The manufacturing team has been and will remain GM's competitive advantage," he wrote, "and I know the team will continue to do what they do best — perform, exceed expectations, and safely build products our customers love."