General Motors Co. in Detroit and GM Cruise are taking the next step toward commercializing autonomous vehicle technology with the appointment of Dan Ammann as CEO of GM Cruise.
Kyle Vogt, GM Cruise co-founder, will partner with Ammann to set strategic direction for the company and will lead technology development as GM Cruise president and chief technology officer. The appointments are effective Jan. 1.
Under Vogt’s leadership, GM Cruise has emerged as an industry leader in autonomous vehicle technology, growing from 40 employees to more than 1,000 at its San Francisco headquarters. It also recently announced an expansion of 100 to 200 employees in Seattle. With recent investments by SoftBank and Honda, GM Cruise’s valuation is at $14.6 billion.
“These appointments further demonstrate our commitment to transforming mobility through the safe deployment of self-driving technology and move us closer to our vision for a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion,” says Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of GM. “As we move toward commercial deployment, adding Dan to the strong team led by Kyle is the next step.”
As GM president, Ammann spearheaded the 2016 GM Cruise acquisition. “I’m excited to dedicate 100 percent of my time and energy to helping Kyle and the entire team realize our mission of deploying this technology at scale,” says Ammann.
“Dan’s been my partner since General Motors’ initial investment in GM Cruise and I am thrilled he has agreed to join us full-time,” says Vogt. “Dan’s thorough understanding of our mission and his operational expertise make him the perfect fit to lead GM Cruise into commercial deployment.”
With Ammann’s appointment, GM’s global regions and GM Financial now will report directly to Barra.