General Motors Europe

“CIO Development have supported and worked with the GM Europe senior IT executive team, coaching and supporting them through some incredible change. The development that was provided was outstanding and results were fantastic. I am more than happy to endorse the organisation!”
Alejandro Martinez, VP & CIO, General Motors Europe.

General Motors Europe comprises the Opel and Vauxhall brands and is one of the most technologically advanced automobile manufacturers in the region. Outstanding design, innovative technology, and environmental friendliness are the hallmarks of its products. GM Europe’s people are very well supported to develop their careers in a large multi-national company.

From an initial enquiry from Alejandro Martinez, to discuss the development needs resulting from his bringing two new CIOs into the region, the conversation quickly developed and extended to the engagement of a select group of his direct reports. It resulted that Alejandro had a target development population of 12 key senior IT executives, nine based in Russelsheim, Germany and three based in the UK.

To begin the process, CIO Development designed a bespoke workshop for the GM Europe IT top team in early summer 2012, delivered in Germany. The agenda was driven by the business and leadership agenda which required the team to:

• Construct, own and sell the future European IT vision in GM
• Manage change, dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty
• Manage and motivate others, leading teams that can deliver change
• Influence and manage ‘upwards’, leading projects as well as people.

Outcomes were that the group hugely appreciated the development as a chance to think more broadly and bond as a team away from their very busy and day to day schedules. The balance between strategic focus (IT trends, future focus), and the personal development focus (influencing skills, career management) went down extremely well, as well as the opportunity to discuss and share knowledge and experience within the team.

2012 and 2013 were a busy and hugely important time for the GM Europe team. With the appointment of a world renowned CIO in Randy Mott and a serious IT transformation agenda there were many new projects and a huge focus on speed, value and innovation. With the combined agenda of building a strong team and raising the bar further for the IT function around business acumen and leadership, further support was requested.

The next phase was to work in individual coaching sessions moving forward on each manager’s particular development requirements/agendas. The results were outstanding. Coaching sessions were delivered face to face and remotely over the course of many months with the UK (Vauxhall) and German (Opel) managers. The overriding theme was to enable and help them to step up their leadership and capability to drive change in their area of responsibility. Liaison and relationship management with the US organisation was also a strong requirement, keeping a focus on the bigger picture and challenges that General Motors was facing globally. Through this period of intense work and business transformation the organisation truly moved to a better and more stable place, with the IT organisation playing its part in that.

CIO Development works with organisations, teams and individuals tailoring development solutions to meet today’s diverse challenges facing technology and IT leaders. Contact us if you want to know more.