Marc Whitten, a former Amazon and Microsoft executive, has been appointed as the new CEO of General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit. With a background as a founding engineer at Microsoft’s Xbox and experience as chief product officer of audio company Sonos, Whitten brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new role. His most recent position as chief product and technology officer for software development company Unity’s Create further highlights his leadership skills and ability to drive growth in complex environments.
The appointment of Marc Whitten comes at a crucial time for Cruise, as the company is in the process of testing and relaunching its autonomous vehicles on public roadways. Following an October incident in which a pedestrian in San Francisco was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise robotaxi, key leaders, including Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, departed the company. A third-party probe ordered by GM and Cruise found culture issues, ineptitude, and poor leadership as contributing factors to the accident.
Cruise, based in San Francisco, was aiming to expand its operations into a revenue-generating business for GM, which acquired the company in 2016. With investors like Honda Motor, Microsoft, T. Rowe Price, and Walmart, Cruise has resumed supervised driving in Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas but has not relaunched in San Francisco, where it remains under investigation. The company’s vision of providing technology that offers real benefits to society is crucial to its success.
In addition to Marc Whitten’s appointment as CEO, GM announced other executive changes at Cruise. Nick Mulholland, who previously led communications for Rivian, will become Cruise’s chief marketing and communications officer. Craig Glidden, GM’s legal and chief policy officer, will join Cruise as president and chief administrative officer. Glidden will oversee legal, government affairs, finance, communications, and human resources. Grant Dixton, with leadership experience at Activision Blizzard and Boeing, will replace Glidden in his former role.
The appointment of Marc Whitten as CEO of GM’s Cruise marks a significant step in the company’s efforts to develop and launch autonomous vehicles. Whitten’s background and experience in technology and business leadership position him as a strong leader to drive Cruise towards its vision of creating technology with tangible benefits to society. The executive changes at Cruise reflect GM’s commitment to strengthening the company’s leadership team and addressing challenges to ensure the success and safety of its autonomous vehicle operations.
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