FOR
RELEASE:
November 13, 2001
Bob Lutz, Gary Cowger Named Chairman, President, of GM North
America;
Ron Zarrella Returns to Bausch & Lomb
DETROIT - General
Motors Corp. today announced that Bob Lutz, vice chairman of GM Product
Development, will take on additional duties as chairman of GM North
America. Gary Cowger, group vice president of GM Manufacturing and Labor
Relations, has been named president of GM North America. Both changes
are effective immediately.
Ron Zarrella, GM
executive vice president and president of GM North America, has resigned
to become chairman and chief executive officer of Bausch & Lomb Inc.
in Rochester, N.Y.
Lutz joined GM in
September from Exide Technologies and after a 39-year career in the auto
industry. He will continue to focus on GM product development activities
and team with Cowger on North America operations.
Cowger was named to his
current position in January. He previously had been group vice president
of GM Labor Relations since November 1998. He earlier had assignments in
Europe and Mexico after starting his GM career in 1965 and holding a
number of engineering and manufacturing positions.
As president, Cowger will
be responsible for the day-to-day management of GM North America and
will work with Lutz on the business unit's strategic direction. In
addition, he will remain the global process leader for manufacturing.
"Lutz and Cowger
give us a very strong North American leadership team with great
experience and depth," GM President and CEO Rick Wagoner said.
"I want to
congratulate Ron Zarrella on this terrific opportunity at Bausch &
Lomb," Wagoner said. "Ron has been a strong contributor at GM.
He led an effective team that has transformed our sales and marketing
and brought about a heightened awareness of brand value to the entire
industry.
"As president of our
North American region, he oversaw the reorganization of just about every
aspect of our operations. GM productivity and quality improved
significantly during his time at GM.
"More recently, he
deserves credit for reviving industry sales after the tragic events of
Sept. 11 by instituting GM's "Keep America Rolling" campaign.
We will miss Ron's contributions, but are confident that the strong team
he put together will continue to build on its accomplishments."
General Motors (NYSE:
GM), the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and
markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2000, GM earned $5 billion on
sales of $183.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about
363,000 people globally.
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