General Motors said Tuesday that it has hired Mike Abbott, who led cloud services at Apple Inc., to be its executive vice president of software.
Abbott, 50, will begin in the newly created role May 22, reporting to CEO Mary Barra, GM said. He will lead a reorganized software team focused on information and digital technology, software-defined vehicle and operating systems, and digital business.
Abbott's hire comes shortly after GM said its upcoming electric vehicles would not offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone connectivity. The automaker instead plans to implement its own embedded software solution, developed with Google Inc.
"We have entered the next phase of our technology driven transformation focused on rapidly scaling new EV models and our Ultifi software platform, which will drive faster innovation and enable new and exciting customer experiences," Barra said in a statement. "Mike's experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market's most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM."