GM Powertrain Boss Quits
GM’s upper management is shaking again, as the Detroit Free Press reports that Jamie Hresko, The General’s global powertrain boss, has left the building. And unlike the last round of management shuffling, this move doesn’t seem to have been planned. The Freep reports:
Hresko’s departure comes about a month after CEO Dan Akerson took the product-development organization from powertrain engineer Tom Stephens and put most of it under Mary Barra, a manufacturing engineer. Stephens, a GM vice chairman, became chief technology officer and retained responsibilities for research and development. But Hresko’s resignation was his decision and not part of a management shakeup, a person familiar with the situation said.
As a 28-year veteran of GM who previously held top positions in US and Global quality departments, Hresko’s resignation is not inconsequential. Especially given his lack of post-GM plans. GM’s auto industry experience-free CEO Dan Akerson now has one less experienced advisor to rely on… or is that one less recalcitrant insider to fight?
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Things are STILL not right at GM. It seemed like maybe they had changed their ways, cleaned the proper house post-bankruptcy, and were on the right path. Lately, it seems the wrong people are being promoted/quitting/getting fired, the wrong people are still at the top of the organization, the product lines are getting bloated again (Buick), other parts of the product line are lacking new investment (Cadillac, engines), and they're relying more on stupid accounting games, rebates, fleet sales,etc. I honestly, for a little while, thought that maybe it was finally over. Much like it seems to mostly be a lot better at Ford, but I'm getting more and more disappointed. No GM fan-boy, glad to see something like the Volt come out of America, wanting the American auto industry to succeed based on good products, good prices, and good quality and not silly games. It seems like maybe Ford is the only one on the right path, and GM is (AGAIN) moving in the wrong direction. I can't figure it out. Its like it is 90% right, 90% there, but they just never seem to be able to get that last bit.
Does the LS still get built by Mercury Marine?
Hresko has had numerous assignments within various parts of GM. Prior to coming back to Powertrain recently, he was GM North America Vice President for quality. His assignment as Powertrain Engineering VP is quite recent so he has had essentially no responsibility for the product wins or failures mentioned, at least not in the sense implied by the comments. He was well respected, but there are plenty of very talented folks to take his place. He may have simply been angered when Barra got the job he thought was his, although that is purely my conjecture. We may find out soon that he had a better offer somewhere else. The Stephens move was concerning, but only time will tell how the Product Development function is effected by leadership changes. The company's goal has long been to develop systems of operation so that outcome is not so personality dependent. A few years ago, we hired a retired Toyota top Exec to help GM improve quality. He said that Toyota had mediocre people in a brilliant system, while GM had brilliant people in a mediocre system. The lesson is that a good system is far more important than individual personalities. GM has been working hard to develop and implement brilliant systems to complement the talented people.
Educator Dan- Great post! GM Powertrain leadership embraced Deming and his quality philosophy over 20 years ago. There was a big push to get a "critical mass" of employees trained so that his ideas would become institutionalized. A conference center in the Powertrain Engineering HQ building is named after him in recognition of his stature. GM Powertrains rank at the top of quality surveys such as JD Power, in no small part due to the teachings of Doctor Deming. I had the chance to participate in a live seminar with Deming himself. He was quite a guy!