GM General Motors Company

By Mike Colias 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (April 19, 2018).

General Motors Co. replaced the head of its Cadillac brand, as executives push for a swifter turnaround at the onetime U.S. luxury-auto leader.

Johan de Nysschen, the 58-year-old executive best known in the auto industry for helping Volkswagen AG's Audi brand gain U.S. prominence a decade ago, is leaving the company effective immediately, GM said Wednesday. He will be succeeded by Steve Carlisle, a 55-year-old GM veteran who has been running the auto maker's Canadian business.

Despite posting strong results in China, Cadillac has lost U.S. market share every year since Mr. de Nysschen's arrival in September 2014. GM executives have said they view the rebuilding of the once-dominant brand as a long-term project. But they have grown impatient with the lack of progress in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

GM President Dan Ammann praised Mr. de Nysschen for "setting a stronger foundation" for Cadillac's growth, but added that the brand must accelerate its turnaround.

"The world is changing rapidly...and it is paramount that we capitalize immediately on the opportunities that arise from this rate of change," Mr. Ammann said in a statement. "This move will further accelerate our efforts."

In an email to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. de Nysschen cited "foundational work" done under his watch, including improved selling prices, higher revenue and a more-affluent customer mix. But, as Cadillac enters a potential growth phase with several new models slated in the next three years, his bosses decided "they want a new leader for that phase."

"They made their decision and that is it," he said. "It's not personal. It's business."

Mr. Carlisle, an engineer by training, joined GM in 1982. He has served in executive roles in product planning and U.S. sales and as president of GM's Southeast Asia operations.

In December, GM replaced Cadillac's chief marketing officer and effective No. 2 executive, Uwe Ellinghaus, and installed Deborah Wahl, who led marketing at McDonald's Corp. until last year, having previously worked at Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand.

Once tops in the U.S. luxury-auto market, Cadillac has been surpassed over the past two decades by Lexus and German brands such as BMW and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz. Rejuvenating the 117-year-old brand is among the top priorities of GM Chief Executive Mary Barra, who is counting on Cadillac's re-emergence to help boost GM's global profit margins.

Cadillac's sales in China more than doubled under Mr. de Nysschen, who was recruited from Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti brand. His strategy has been to leverage that success to invest in Cadillac's U.S. turnaround, including several new SUV models that will be added to showrooms in the next few years.

In 2015, Mr. de Nysschen said GM had earmarked $12 billion over five years to invest in Cadillac's comeback. Following years of underinvestment, Cadillac's vehicle lineup remains slim compared with other luxury players. It sells just one crossover SUV -- among the industry's hottest categories -- while some German competitors offer a half dozen.

Mr. de Nysschen had said many times that turning around Cadillac would take a decade or longer. He has clashed with dealers as he raised vehicle prices and customer-service standards at dealerships in an effort to improve the brand's image.

"Great brands are not built over night," the executive said in an October interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Under Mr. de Nysschen, Cadillac relocated its headquarters from Detroit to a sleek new office in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood and redirected its marketing toward fashion and design as a way to draw younger buyers.

A GM spokesman said there is no plan to relocate Cadillac from New York.

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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