General Motors is losing its software executive amid a reorganization of its software division after vehicle software problems prompted the suspension of sales of some new vehicles in recent months.
On Tuesday, GM said Chief Digital Officer Edward Kummer was leaving the company. The move comes just two weeks after software chief Mike Abbott left for health reasons.
In a company memorandum obtained by the Detroit Free Press, GM wrote: “The Digital Services and Experiences team, currently part of the Software & Services organization, is being reorganized within other areas of GM. The goal is greater consistency in revenue generation, software and marketing functions to make groups work more efficiently, while user experience and quality are top priorities.”
The memo said Kummer and Donald Chesnut, vice president of customer experience, have decided to leave GM and “we are grateful for their contributions.”
When asked about the moves, GM spokesman Kevin Kelly sent this statement to the Free Press: “We wish Edward Kummer the best and thank him for his years of contributions to GM. We have reorganized some of our teams that support digital services and experiences to secure the job continues to run efficiently. We have no further details at this time.”
Kummer’s Letter of Probate
GM hired Kummer in October 2021 to lead what was then a new digital business team. His job was to build the digital business and accelerate software investments to bring more software to consumers. Kummer was president of Nordstrom Rack’s online business and Nordstrom’s HauteLook brand before joining GM.
One of its more controversial moves came last March when GM said its future electric vehicles would not offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These technologies allow drivers to bypass the infotainment system to view their smartphone screens on the instrument panel display. Kummer said the onboard infotainment system will help GM optimize the routing and charging experience for EV buyers.
But the decision was met with criticism on social media, with some people saying they wouldn’t buy a vehicle that didn’t offer CarPlay or Android Auto.
A month of GM reorganization
Two weeks ago, GM announced a change in management. Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson, 61, is retiring after 44 years at GM. He will be replaced by former Tesla CEO Jens Peter (JP) Clausen, 52.
Abbott, 51, executive vice president of software and services, also left GM. Abbott, formerly vice president of engineering for Apple’s Cloud Services division, joined GM in May 2023 to take over management of GM’s overall software systems. In February, CEO Mary Barra praised Abbott, saying he “has brought in an incredible team. We’ve already revamped the software development process and, more importantly, the validation process.”
Barr called 2024 “the year of execution,” promising to fix the slow launch of GM’s new electric vehicles, restart Cruise, GM’s self-driving robotaxi business that was halted after a self-driving car hit a pedestrian in San Francisco – and get GM’s software right. GM had to pause sales of its recently launched Chevrolet Blazer EV in December and its midsize gasoline pickup trucks earlier this year due to software bugs. Both have been repaired.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson said Tuesday during the Bank of America 2024 Global Auto Summit that the software architecture is “difficult” and that many companies besides GM have had challenges with it. He praised GM’s software team for the way they handled the problems.
“We’ve invested a lot in incremental validation work,” Jacobson said. “The teams we’ve brought in are really focused on doing this at scale. With the Blazer being discontinued and things like that, I’d rather get it fixed before we get it into customers’ hands even if it costs us a little bit of working capital because we have to be sure that the customer is impressed with the capabilities of what we deliver.”
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more about General Motors and sign up for our auto newsletter. Become a subscriber.