Karl Stracke will succeed Reilly as president of GM Europe, effective January 1 2012. Stracke will continue as chief executive officer of Opel/Vauxhall and will join the GM Executive Operations Committee immediately. Reilly will remain a member of the GM Executive Operations Committee until his retirement.

Reilly was the first president and chief executive officer of GM Daewoo Auto and Technology in Korea when it was founded in 2002.  He moved on to spearhead GM’s growth in Asia Pacific and Latin America and has led GM Europe’s restructuring since December 2009.
 
Dan Akerson, GM Chairman and chief executive officer, said: ‘Nick Reilly has answered the call for GM at every turn. He returned to Europe and successfully led the turnaround of our operations there during one of the most tumultuous times in our company’s history.’

Stracke returned to his native Germany in March 2011 to lead Opel/Vauxhall, accelerating the company’s restructuring and helping it achieve a modest profit ahead of plan.  He was previously the vice president of GM Global Vehicle Engineering, based in Detroit.

Akerson continued: ‘Karl Stracke has tremendous product experience and a proven track record of teamwork across organizations. His results-driven style will build on the great work he and Nick started to position Opel/Vauxhall and GM Europe for sustainable and profitable growth.’

Reilly will continue in an advisory role until his retirement in March 2012.