Latest GM Management Shakeup Means the Company is No Longer Bob Lutz Inc.
The era of the gruff yet charismatic "car guy" is clearly coming to an end at General Motors (GM). There's a new product czarina at the company, and her name is Mary Barra. She assumed the role last week, transferring from her position as GM's global human resources VP, a management job that has been lively, to say the least, since she took it over in 2009. Former CEO and board chairman Ed Whitacre wasn't shy about shaking up the ranks, and neither is new CEO Dan Akerson.
But Akerson is going for a serious big change here. Barra is no Bob Lutz, the outspoken auto executive who retired from GM last year after a career in the industry that can only be compared with the likes of GM styling genius Harley Earl and Detroit mega-personality John DeLorean.
Lutz was a guy who moved the needle, typically to the redline, often enough when he was driving the car himself. His press conferences at the auto shows were the ones that the journalists actually wanted to cover. He was a former Marine who continued to fly his own private fighter jet. He challenged bloggers half his age to race him -- and won.
Barra has a lot going for her, but none of her virtues fall in the Lutz category.
General Motors as startup?
As GM moved through its management gyrations post-bankruptcy, it sought to retain some Lutzian qualities. Barra's predecessor, Tom Stephens, fit the image, but Akerson's challenge is apparently not to push out the gutsy cars that Lutz was known for -- such as the Cadillac CTS-V, the Pontiac G8, and the Pontiac Solstice -- but rather to rebrand the New General as something closer to an automotive startup with a do-or-die attitude.
Of course, Akerson can't assemble a management team that will hit that mark right off the bat -- cars aren't computers. Barra's elevation, though, is a clear sign that GM needs to bring new vehicles to market at a faster clip. Akerson can't bring in a newbie to achieve this, as the product person needs to know how GM's vast operations work.
Enter Barra, who does -- but who also understands that that the company can move a lot faster than it ever did in the past. She has one huge advantage in achieving Akerson's goal: GM is now just a four-brand company (Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, Buick) and can be a lot more aggressive about marketing those brands than it has in the past.
Changing what "product" means
A generational shift is also at work. Lutz was in his seventies when he retired. Barra is in her late forties. It's not like she doesn't dig a hot set of wheels, but even with her engineering background, if she has memories of carburetors, they're probably hazy. She likely sees cars as systems that can address a customer's needs far beyond mere driving.
GM's technology partnership with Google (GOOG), which brings the Android operating system to vehicles like the Chevy Volt, is just the beginning. Eventually, your car will be your rolling WiFi hotspot and enable you to check in with social networks via technologies that integrate your smartphone with your dashboard.
As cars begin to offer this level of seamless integration, their development cycle will need to accelerate to accommodate a market that's constantly craving the latest thing, not "new" models that have taken five years to develop. Akerson wants GM to behave this way: to be fast, nimble and quick to strike.
Earlier this week, he put Linda Marshall in charge of OnStar, the communications technology that he wants to operate more as GM vehicles' rolling "brain," not just a service that can open your doors remotely if you lock your keys in the car. Additional shuffling will come as he works his way through the company's divisions and refines the mix of experience and new blood.
Is the era of the car guy really finished?
Actually, it looks like it is. I harbor a lot of gearhead nostalgia for Lutz and all that he stood for. I'd even suggest that GM should keep a "Little Lutz" in the wings in case Akerson's master plan for the company doesn't pan out.
But bankruptcy, and the subsequent IPO, has truly pushed GM into a new place. Barra is the right kind of executive for what the company currently needs. Falling back on the car guy would be a distraction -- and a potentially disastrous one, at that.
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Photo: GM Media