General Motors announced the hiring of Sterling Anderson, a renowned expert in autonomous driving, best known as the pioneer behind Tesla’s Autopilot technology and co-founder of innovative mobility startup Aurora.
Anderson joined Tesla in 2014 to lead the development of the Model X, a role that earned him recognition as an early pioneer of the Autopilot program, which he spearheaded from 2015 to 2016.
Following his departure from the automaker, he joined forces with Chris Urmson, a pioneer in autonomous driving who had previously played a key role in the development of Google’s self-driving project, now known as Waymo, to co-found Aurora, a pioneering self-driving startup.
Recently, Aurora has focused its efforts on introducing autonomous driving capabilities to the van market.
As we discuss, General Motors announced the appointment of Anderson to a newly created role, “Chief Product Officer”, effective June 2.
The company is seeking a highly skilled and motivated individual to fill a newly created position within our team.
Sterling will spearhead the newly formed role, steering General Motors’ comprehensive product lifecycle strategy, ensuring seamless integration of hardware, software, and services to deliver exceptional quality, performance, and customer experiences across their global portfolio of gasoline-powered and electric vehicles.
Sterling’s new role may involve multiple direct reports, in collaboration with Kurt Kelty, formerly of Tesla, who currently heads GM’s Battery, Propulsion, and Sustainability unit. He will even oversee World Manufacturing & Product Engineering, Analysis & Improvement (led by Josh Tavel), Software program and Providers Product (led by Bariş Cetinok), and Automobile Product Packages, Product Security, Integration & Motorsports (led by Ken Morris).
GM president Mark Reuss:
“Drawing upon extensive experience in automotive engineering, tech startups, and software innovations, Sterling stands out as a trusted partner to accelerate progress across your entire portfolio, delivering cars that combine design excellence, performance, and cutting-edge technology to meet the evolving needs of your discerning customers.”
With a robust educational foundation in robotics and expertise in movement planning and autonomous control systems, Anderson’s profile hints at the strategic direction General Motors (GM) might be adopting for their product development.
Electrek’s Take
Ex-Tesla executives currently occupy influential positions on the product side of several prominent US automotive companies.
Doug Discipline heads Ford’s electric vehicle division, and Anderson holds the top product role at General Motors.
One aspect that resonates with me is the fact that many of Tesla’s initial team members, such as Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, were ardent proponents of Tesla’s vision to accelerate the adoption of electric transportation.
As a result, they are empowered to drive this initiative within established automotive brands, potentially yielding a profound impact on the overall mission.
