 Robert
A. Lutz
Vice Chairman
Global Product Development
General Motors Corporation
Robert A. Lutz was named General
Motors vice chairman of product
development on September 1,
2001. On November 13, 2001, he
was named chairman of GM North
America and served in that
capacity until April 4, 2005,
when he assumed responsibility
for Global Product Development.
He also served as president of
GM Europe on an interim basis
from March to June 2004.
Prior to rejoining GM as vice
chairman, Lutz was chairman and
chief executive officer of Exide
Technologies. He served as
chairman until his resignation
on May 17, 2002, and as a member
of Exide's board of directors
until May 5, 2004.
Lutz joined Exide after a
distinguished career with the
former Chrysler Corporation from
1986 to 1998, where he reached
the position of vice chairman.
Lutz also served as president
and chief operating officer,
responsible for Chrysler's car
and truck operations worldwide.
Lutz led all of Chrysler's
automotive activities, including
sales, marketing, product
development, manufacturing, and
procurement and supply. He began
his service with Chrysler in
1986 as executive vice president
and was shortly thereafter
elected to the Chrysler
Corporation board. His 12 years
with the company are chronicled
in his 1998 book, Guts: The
Seven Laws of Business That Made
Chrysler the World's Hottest Car
Company. Guts was revised and
updated in 2003 and retitled,
Guts: 8 Laws of Business from
One of the Most Innovative
Business Leaders of our Time.
Before Chrysler, Lutz spent 12
years at Ford Motor Company,
where his last position was
executive vice president of
truck operations. He also served
as chairman of Ford of Europe
and as executive vice president
of Ford's international
operations. From 1982 to 1986,
Lutz was a member of Ford's
board.
Lutz began his automotive career
in September 1963 at GM, where
he held a variety of senior
positions in Europe until
December 1971. For the next
three years, he served as
executive vice president of
sales at BMW in Munich and as a
member of that company's board
of management.
He serves as chairman of The New
Common School Foundation and as
a trustee of the Barbara Ann
Karmanos Cancer Institute. He is
also a member of the board of
trustees for the U.S. Marine
Corps University Foundation and
vice chairman of the board of
trustees for the Marine Military
Academy in Harlingen, Texas.
Lutz received his bachelor's
degree in production management
from the University of
California-Berkeley in 1961,
where he earned distinction as a
Phi Beta Kappa. He received a
master's degree in business
administration, with highest
honors, from the University of
California-Berkeley in 1962. He
received an honorary degree of
doctor of management from
Kettering University on June 21,
2003, and an honorary doctorate
of law from Boston University in
1985. The SAE (Society of
Automotive Engineers) Foundation
named him the recipient of its
2006 Manufacturing Leadership
Award, which recognizes
individuals who have made
meaningful contributions to the
development of the automotive
industry.
He also served as a jet-attack
aviator in the United States
Marine Corps from 1954 to 1965
and attained the rank of
captain. Lutz was born on
February 12, 1932, in Zurich,
Switzerland
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