Wednesday, January 26, 2005

GM won't replace top marketing exec

By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News

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General Motors Corp. will not replace a top advertising executive as part of an overall push to slim down its marketing and sales operations.

Roger Adams resigned this week as executive director of corporate advertising, marketing and customer relations to become senior vice president at The Home Depot Inc.

GM said he will not be replaced.

"They really are moving to a new business model -- a leaner, faster organization," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.

"They're finding they don't necessarily have to replace everyone," Cole said.

Adams, 48, had been in the post since last month and replaced C.J. Fraleigh, who left GM to become a top marketing executive at Sara Lee.

Adams joined GM from the Keebler Co. in 1996 as a Buick brand manager. He also served as Buick division general manager and general manager of the combined Buick and Pontiac-GMC divisions.

The three executives who reported directly to Adams will have new bosses. Betsy Lazar, general director of media and advertising operations, and Jack Bowen, general director of customer relations management, will report to Mark LaNeve, GM North America vice president, advertising and marketing.

Steve Tihanyi, general director, marketing alliances and promotions, will report to Martin Walsh, executive director of vehicle sales, service and marketing support.

"This takes a layer of management out of the equation," GM spokesman Ryndee Carney said.

The move will not result in job losses or a major shift in the department's operations, though some additional staff changes could take place, Carney said.

In an interview earlier this month at the North American International Auto Show, LaNeve indicated changes were planned for his department, which has the crucial role of developing marketing and advertising programs for GM's sprawling product line.

"Like all parts of GM, my department's getting leaner," LaNeve said.

He said the company needs to decide whether some types of work should continue to be performed by GM employees.

"There's expertise now in areas of customer relations management, new media, nontraditional media -- do they reside within the company, outside the company? We're going to make decisions," LaNeve said.

Much of GM's media purchases already are performed by outside agencies.

The company's use of nonstaff contract workers also has been drastically reduced. Outside contractors now make up 10 percent of GM's engineering staff, down from 30 percent five years ago.

"We reduced 40 percent of our cost in the last six years and increased the amount of product we could work on by one-third," said Jim Queen, vice president, GM North American engineering.

Last week, GM reported 2004 profits of $3.7 billion, down $1 billion from 2003.

You can reach Ed Garsten at (313) 223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com.