GM names Troy Clarke as new North America president. Nick Reilly to Succeed Clarke as President of GM Asia Pacific

Troy Clarke has been appointed president of GM North America and GM group vice president, effective July 1, General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner announced today.

Clarke, president of GM Asia Pacific since 2004, will work closely with Wagoner in implementing the GMNA turnaround plan, and will oversee day-to-day operations of GM's largest sales region. Wagoner has been leading GMNA since April 2005 to develop and drive the region's turnaround strategy.

"While much work remains to be done, we have reached several significant milestones in our turnaround plan over the past year," Wagoner said. "This is the right time to turn the region's day-to-day operations over to Troy, who has the experience and skills to help lead the GMNA team as it continues this unprecedented restructuring. Troy has a track record of success in general management, manufacturing and labor relations in the United States and globally, which will be invaluable in his new assignment."

Wagoner said he and his senior leadership team will continue to be actively involved in executing the next key steps in the GMNA turnaround plan, including a successful resolution of the Delphi reorganization; completion of the accelerated attrition and capacity-reduction programs, and achievement of the $7 billion structural cost-reduction target; flawless launches of key new cars, trucks and advanced technologies; and ongoing refinement and acceleration of GM's brand and product-focused marketing strategy.

David "Nick" Reilly, a GM vice president and president and CEO of GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. in South Korea, will replace Clarke as president of GM Asia Pacific and will become a GM group vice president, also effective July 1. Reilly also will succeed Clarke as chairman of the GMDAT Board of Directors. A replacement for Reilly as CEO of GMDAT will be announced at a later date.

"Nick has demonstrated his managerial strength, most recently in growing GM Daewoo into a profitable enterprise that has quickly become a key part of our global expansion plans, well in advance of what was generally expected," Wagoner said. "The success of GM Daewoo is a tribute to Nick's leadership and commitment."

Vice Chairman John Devine, 62, who announced in December that he planned to retire this year, has decided to make his retirement effective June 1, Wagoner said.

"We all owe John a tremendous debt of gratitude for his vast contributions to GM over the past five years," Wagoner said. "John took on a number of challenging and important assignments during his tenure as vice chairman and chief financial officer. His extensive experience and expertise in the auto business, along with the respect he enjoys on Wall Street, enabled him to contribute to our turnaround in an exceptional manner."

Technorati Tags: GM, Autos+news, autos, press+release, automotive, automobile, cars