GM's Cruise names former Amazon, Microsoft Xbox government as new CEO

DETROIT – General Motors’ Cruise autonomous car unit on Tuesday introduced former Amazon and Microsoft government Marc Whitten as its new CEO.

Whitten was a founding engineer at Microsoft’s Xbox earlier than leaving the corporate after greater than 17 years to turn into chief product officer of audio firm Sonos in 2014, in response to his LinkedIn profile. He then labored at Amazon as vp of leisure units and companies earlier than his most up-to-date function as chief product and know-how officer for software program growth firm Unity‘s Create.

His appointment comes at a vital time for Cruise, which is testing and relaunching its autonomous autos on public roadways. It ceased operations weeks after an Oct. 2 accident by which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 toes by a Cruise robotaxi.

Following the incident, a number of key leaders, together with Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, departed the corporate.

“Marc is a confirmed know-how and enterprise chief with intensive expertise in scaling merchandise and constructing ecosystems round them,” GM CEO and Chair Mary Barra, who additionally leads the Cruise board of administrators, said in a release. “He has sparked innovation and pushed development in advanced, fast-paced environments all through his profession, and I imagine that can show essential to Cruise’s imaginative and prescient of making know-how that gives actual, tangible advantages to society.”

A 3rd-party probe into the October incident ordered by GM and Cruise discovered tradition points, ineptitude and poor management fueled regulatory oversights that led to the accident. The probe additionally investigated allegations of a coverup by Cruise management, however didn’t discover proof to help these claims.

Throughout that point, San Francisco-based Cruise was trying to increase its operations right into a revenue-generating enterprise for GM, which has been a majority proprietor of the corporate since buying it in 2016. Different buyers now embrace Honda Motor, Microsoft, T. Rowe Worth, and Walmart.

As of this month, Cruise has resumed supervised driving in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas, along with its ongoing testing in Dubai. It has not relaunched in San Francisco, the place it stays beneath investigation associated to the incident.

Cruise was a vital a part of GM’s plan to double income to $280 billion by the tip of this decade.

GM introduced Whitten’s appointment along side different government adjustments. The automaker stated Nick Mulholland, who led communications for Rivian, would turn into Cruise’s chief advertising and communications officer.

Craig Glidden, who has served as GM’s authorized and chief coverage officer, additionally will be a part of Cruise as president and chief administrative officer, liable for authorized, authorities affairs, finance, communications, and human sources, the automaker stated in a separate release Tuesday.

Glidden shall be changed by Grant Dixton, who has held senior management roles at Activision Blizzard and Boeing.

 ”GM is an iconic firm I’ve at all times admired,” Dixton stated in a press release. “I’m grateful for the chance to work with Mary, her management crew, and the robust authorized and coverage groups in place at GM to assist the corporate obtain its daring imaginative and prescient because it continues to offer autos that clients world wide love.”