After overseeing General Motors through one of the darkest periods in company history and witnessing the posting of the most abysmal sales results in decades, North American sales chief Mark LaNeve has announced he will be resigning. Given the aggressive round of musical chairs that’s been played throughout the past year amongst GM’s top executives, the announcement does not come as a shock to those familiar with the trade. What we did find mildly surprising was LaNeve’s decision to leave GM in favor of a job outside of the automotive sector, indicating either an exasperation with or total loss of hope in the industry he’s devoted 28 years of his life to.

In a conference call with the press this morning, a contrite GM CEO Fritz Hendersen said of LaNeve’s decision, “It’s with very mixed emotions that confirm that Mark LaNeve has elected to leave General Motors on October 15 to pursue another opportunity with a non-automotive company. Mark has contributed significantly to GM in several key positions, including transforming the Cadillac brand and leading the vehicle sales, service and marketing organization during one of the most challenging periods in GM’s history.”

Continued Henderson, “I’d like to thank Mark for his dedication and wish him and his family well as he moves to a key position at another company. A replacement for Mark will be named at a later date. In the interim, Jim Bunnell, general manager, U.S. sales, and his team will continue to follow through with GM’s dealer network plans.”

Source: GM
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