Stephens was the opposite of the flamboyant and disruptive Bob Lutz. Nevertheless both Stephens and Lutz pursued the same “fix GM” goals with passion.
General Motors Vice Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Tom Stephens will retire effective 1 April after a 43-year career at GM. The major personnel change was announced in a rare Sunday news release. In his most recent role as CTO, Stephens, 63, led the company’s product technology arm, working to identify and develop advanced technologies for use in upcoming GM vehicles. Stephen’s successor will be named later, who unlike Stephens may or may not know the difference between a mouse motor and a rat motor or their histories.
The retirement is major development at a recovering GM since Stephens was an extremely knowledgeable, no nonsense ‘car guy.’ Stephens started in 1969 as an hourly employee at the Chevrolet Engineering Center in Warren, Mich., under a University of Michigan Student Co-op Program. The affable Stephens – with some hearing loss from years of working in engine dynamometer test cells – got things done, and done well in the face of GM’s huge and largely inert bureaucracy. Stephens always pushed for the best product possible, according to GM engineers, even when he didn’t have the clout needed to effect change. Stephens knew the difference in an insider’s view “very exactly between merely good, and great cars and trucks.”
However, for the last decade or longer Stephens did have clout, and it showed in increasingly better GM cars and trucks. Stephens was Vice Chairman, Global Product Operations from April 2009 through February 2011. He was Group Vice President of Global Powertrain from July 2001 to March 2008, when he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Global Powertrain and Global Quality.
Stephens was the opposite of the flamboyant and disruptive Bob Lutz. Nevertheless both Stephens and Lutz pursued the same “fix GM” goals with passion. While Lutz strutted in public, Stephens poured over reports and data, closely questioned product development engineers about progress and problems, and always with the end goal in sight.
Stephens held several engineering positions at Cadillac Motor Car Division and a series of engineering leadership posts with the Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Division before being chosen to lead the newly created GM Powertrain Division in 1990.
In what I take to be an understatement, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson said, “His talent and contributions to GM are deeply appreciated and his expertise will be missed.”
I’ll miss him too, because to cite just one instance I vividly recall when he patiently took the time after a GM press conference to explain to me the nuances of proposed government fuel economy regulations, and offered to provide experts in specific areas, if I needed more. I didn’t since his summary covered all the significant points.
Key highlights of Stephens’ career include leading the development of the first Cadillac Northstar engine, GM’s premier dual overhead cam performance engine, which won numerous industry and engine awards. He also oversaw the creation of GM’s advanced propulsion technology strategy, which included fuel cells, hybrid vehicles, and the Chevrolet Volt. Stephens also promoted the use of sophisticated computational tools and common parts in GM engineering and product development processes to increase quality and efficiency.
After retirement, Stephens will continue to serve on the board of directors of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Foundation and the board of trustees for the Detroit Science Center. He is a member of the Engineering Advisory Council for the University of Michigan School of Engineering and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2007 for his contributions to powertrain engineering.
Good recognition of his vital contributions to GM’s revival. We must hope other insiders can carry on his mission, with management backing.