General Motors Co. in Detroit announced Marcos Purty will be appointed vice president of global workplace safety.
Purty will replace Jim Glynn, who will retire after more than 40 years of service. Purty returns to GM from Amazon, where for the past 18 months he was vice president of North America fulfilment for Amazon Robotics Sortable Operations. Purty spent the first 25 years of his professional career with GM, beginning in 1994 at GM’s former Pontiac Assembly.
“We are pleased to welcome Marcos back to General Motors,” says Mary Barra, chair and CEO of GM. “Marcos’ global experience across our manufacturing operations, engineering and launch teams, as well as his external experience, position him well to continue the company’s safety transformation.
“We thank Jim for his dedication, his credibility as a leader and his genuine passion for people to lead the change to create an enterprise-wide safety culture. Our safety culture would not be what it is today if it were not for Jim’s experience and leadership, and for that we are forever grateful.”
In his last assignment at GM as executive director of global manufacturing strategy and planning, Purty directed GM manufacturing’s footprint in cost and profitability, spearheaded new product allocation to increase manufacturing utilization, built a total utilization plan and footprint for GM’s all-electric future, and implemented environmentally sustainable choices for the future.
Purty has a bachelor’s degree from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree from the University of Southern California.
“Marcos’ comprehensive and diverse global leadership experience at GM and Amazon will complement and help grow our strong safety culture,” says Gerald Johnson, executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability.
“He is an accomplished, respected leader and we look forward to his perspective and impact on safety. I also want to commend Jim on a stellar career and thank him for his significant contributions to the company.”
