General Motors has promoted Mike MacPhee to a newly created role overseeing Australia, New Zealand and several major international regions, a move the company says will accelerate growth and support the rollout of new vehicles and technologies.
MacPhee has been appointed president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), taking responsibility for those markets from November 15. He will report to GM executive vice president and president of global markets Rory Harvey.
Harvey says the consolidated leadership structure comes as GM prepares to expand its model range and technology offerings across international markets.
“Across our brands, we have our best-ever vehicle portfolio, and we are rolling out new connectivity, autonomous and software technology around the world,” Harvey says.
“This is a critical moment for our business to ensure we are fully leveraging this opportunity to win more customers, delight them with our driving and ownership experiences and earn their loyalty for the long term.”
The company says MacPhee will work closely with teams across Australia, New Zealand and other regions to deliver commercial growth strategies.
Reporting to MacPhee will be Jess Bala, managing director of GM Australia and New Zealand; Jack Uppal, president and managing director of GM Africa and Middle East; and Jean-Pierre Diernaz, acting managing director of GM Europe.
MacPhee says the expanded role reflects GM’s ambitions in international markets.
“We have an incredible opportunity to get more and more people behind the wheel of a GM vehicle and to earn their trust for life,” he says. “I’m looking forward to working with our great teams and partners around the world to bring our world-class vehicles and technologies to market.”
MacPhee has held senior sales and marketing roles across GM’s global operations. In his current position, he has helped Chevrolet lift its ranking from ninth to second in US EV sales and guided the brand to three consecutive years of market share growth.
As marketing director for Chevrolet Trucks, he led teams that pushed Chevrolet ahead of the Ford F-Series in overall US retail truck sales in 2022.
He began his GM career in Canada in 2007, holding a range of field, marketing and sales roles before leading sales and marketing for Buick-GMC and later Chevrolet in that market.
GM says Brad Franz, currently global Cadillac marketing director, will succeed MacPhee as director of Chevrolet sales operations, reporting to global Chevrolet vice-president Scott Bell. Rich Latek, who served as Buick and GMC marketing director, will move to the role of global Cadillac marketing director.
Automobile Magazine-AU
