Dive Brief:
- General Motors has promoted Baris Cetinok and Dave Richardson to lead its software and services organization, the company announced in a press release Monday.
- Cetinok and Richardson previously worked at Apple Inc. and were hired by GM in September 2023. The two executives most recently served in interim roles leading the automaker's software organization after former software lead Mike Abbott, who also joined GM from Apple, announced his departure in March.
- The new executive appointments come as GM aims for software to become a core component of its vehicle and customer experience.
Dive Insight:
Cetinok and Richardson have already played significant roles in building GM’s vehicle operating systems, the automaker stated in the release.
In his new role as senior vice president of software and services at GM, Cetinok will oversee the teams responsible for the automaker’s software roadmap, including the process for development, launch and updating.
Meanwhile, Richardson is expanding his current role to lead all of GM’s software engineering, including embedded platforms, digital products, commercial solutions and advanced driver-assistance systems.
“GM's journey toward a tech-forward future is clearer than ever, thanks to the exceptional talent within our team and the leadership of Baris and Dave,” GM CEO Mary Barra, said in a statement. “These elevated roles will ensure continuity, speed, and quality as software becomes even more central to the vehicle."
Cetinok, who spent nine years at Apple, has extensive experience in product, engineering and design. He formally served as senior director of product management at Apple, where he helped launch Apple Pay, Apple Cash, Apple Card and other iCloud services.
Richardson worked at Apple for 12 years as an engineering leader. He was responsible for driving innovation for three of Apple’s core services — iCloud, FaceTime and Siri.
Both Cetinok and Richardson will work closely with GM’s vehicle design and hardware engineering organizations. The two executives will be based out of GM’s new Mountain View, California Technical Center, which opened last month.
GM and other automakers are racing to catch up to industry pioneer Tesla in developing new software-defined vehicles capable of receiving regular over-the-air updates. The automaker plans to add more connectivity and features to its vehicles, including software-based subscription services that can generate new revenue streams. Therefore, managing vehicle software, data and cloud connectivity remains a high priority for GM, which has been plagued with problems in recent months.
In December, GM issued a stop-sale order for the Blazer EV after numerous reports of software glitches. The stop sale order was lifted in early March after GM updated the vehicle’s software. The automaker also paused sales of the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size trucks to address intermittent software quality issues.
