GM revamps marketing, hires ex-Nissan executive

DETROIT, April 16, 2008; David Bailey writing for Reuters reported that General Motors Corp said on Wednesday it would realign North American sales and marketing management and announced that a former Nissan North America sales chief would lead one of the four new broad retail channels.

GM said the changes to align its eight brands into four brand channels would reduce complexity and improve its focus, with all of the leaders reporting directly to North American sales chief Mark LaNeve.

The four brand channels include Chevrolet, Saturn, Buick-Pontiac-GMC and GM's premium brands.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, said it hired former Nissan North America sales and marketing chief Mark McNabb as vice president for premium brands in North America, which include Cadillac, Hummer and Saab.

The other three channels will be run by current GM executives.

Ed Peper will become North America vice president for the Chevrolet retail channel, Susan Docherty will be North America vice president for the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel and Jill Lajdziak will remain Saturn general manager and take on responsibility for the sales channel as well.

GM said it started to focus on a retail channel approach with the Buick-Pontiac-GMC brands six years ago. About 80 percent of those brands are consolidated with all three under the same dealership roof.

McNabb joins GM on April 21 from Nissan and the channel appointments take effect June 1, GM said.

Nissan had announced McNabb's departure in March in the latest in the string of executive departures from the Japanese automaker's North American unit since it shifted its headquarters to Nashville from Southern California in 2006.

Editing for Reuters by Brian Moss, Phil Berlowitz)