Mark Reuss, GM North America President, Delivers Opening Keynote at Chicago Auto Show - COMPLETE VIDEO

CHICAGO - February 10, 2010: The 2010 Chicago Auto Show kicked off this morning with the opening keynote speech by General Motors' new North American President Mark Reuss.

Click PLAY to watch the complete opening keynote speech

Mark Reuss was appointed president of GM North America on December 4, 2009. Before this appointment, he briefly served as vice president of Engineering. Reuss managed GM's operations in Australia and New Zealand as the president and managing director of GM Holden, Ltd., from February, 2008 until July 2009. He also served on the GM Asia Pacific Strategy Board.

While in Australia, Reuss served as President of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. He led negotiations for long-term government support and a 10 year policy plan to restructure the Australian auto industry. Notably, he was lauded by the Australian Prime Minister and key State Premiers when he returned to the U.S.

Reuss began his career with General Motors in 1983 as a student intern. He has held numerous engineering and management positions across GM brands, including Chief Engineer roles in GM's large luxury car vehicles, and manufacturing body shop tooling launches.

In June, 2001, Reuss was named executive director, architecture engineering and GM Performance Division. He started the new GM Performance Division and launched associated production and racing vehicles including the V-Series Cadillacs and SS Chevrolets. In October 2005, Reuss was appointed executive director of North America vehicle systems and architecture. The following year, he was named executive director of global vehicle integration, safety, and virtual development.

Born on October 19, 1963, Reuss received a bachelor of engineering degree in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1986 and a master's degree in business administration from Duke University in 1990. He is a certified industry pool test driver on the North Course of the famed Nürburgring motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany, and has earned his license for Grand American Road Racing.

Reuss is member of the Horizon Upward Bound/Cranbrook Schools Board of Directors and a member of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering Board of Visitors. He is also GM's key executive for Penn State University.