General Motors has named Jon Lauckner vice president and chief technology officer (CTO), effective April 1. In addition to his current position as president of GM Ventures, Lauckner will be responsible for GM’s Research and Development activity.
Lauckner succeeds current CTO, Tom Stephens, who retires April 1, and he also assumes R&D responsibilities from Vice President Alan Taub, who has elected to retire and pursue outside interests after 11 years with GM.
Lauckner will continue to report to GM Vice Chairman Stephen Girsky. He will also serve as a member of the Global Product Development staff headed by Mary Barra, senior vice president of GM Global Product Development.
“Jon’s vast knowledge and experience in product development and engineering, combined with his ability to identify new and innovative external technology partners, make him a perfect fit for this critically important role,” said Girsky. “With both GM Ventures and Research and Development aligned under him, we will be more nimble and can move faster to integrate the latest and most-advanced technologies into our vehicles for the benefit of customers.”
Lauckner has been president of General Motors Ventures, LLC since July 1, 2010. In this role, he leads a team that makes equity investments in innovative startup companies developing next-generation automotive technology. Lauckner previously held the positions of vice president, Global Product Planning and vice president, Global Program Management.
Lauckner, 54, joined GM in 1979 as a test engineer and held a number of positions in product engineering, powertrain engineering and product development, including international assignments in South America and Europe. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1979. He earned a Master of Science degree in management from Stanford Business School in 1990 through the Sloan Fellowship program and attended the GM-Harvard Senior Executive Program in 2001.
Regarding the retirement of Alan Taub, Girsky said, “Our company and the industry have benefitted greatly from Alan’s experience and leadership. His talent and contributions are appreciated by all those who worked with him.”
Taub joined GM R&D as executive director in 2001. In July 2009, he was named vice president of Global R&D, where he led GM’s advanced technical work, seven science laboratories and seven global science offices.