Sterling Anderson joins GM as executive vice-president and chief product officer to drive innovation across electric and petrol vehicles, software, services and user experience

General Motors has selected one of the foremost figures in autonomous technology to lead its product organisation at a time when digital innovation is transforming the industry’s core. Sterling Anderson, co-founder and chief product officer of Aurora, will become executive vice-president for global product and chief product officer at GM, effective from 2 June. Based at GM’s Mountain View Tech Center in California, he will report directly to GM President Mark Reuss.

“We have an opportunity to evolve the way we build from the ground up, with tighter integration between software and hardware, shorter development cycles, and an unwavering focus on a seamless customer experience”

- Mark Reuss, President, GM

In his new role, Anderson will oversee the complete product lifecycle for GM’s portfolio of combustion and electric vehicles, with responsibility for hardware, software, services and user experience. His appointment comes as GM accelerates efforts to unify its technology stack and streamline development processes to compete with software-first challengers.

“Our customers are expecting more from our vehicles than ever before,” said Reuss. “We have an opportunity to evolve the way we build from the ground up, with tighter integration between software and hardware, shorter development cycles, and an unwavering focus on a seamless customer experience. Sterling brings decades of leadership in automotive engineering and transformative software innovation to his new role and is the right leader to help GM continue leading now and into the future.”

The recruitment also reflects GM’s broader pivot toward software-defined vehicles and high-performance computing platforms. Chair and CEO Mary Barra described Anderson’s arrival as pivotal for the next stage of GM’s transition. “Sterling joins GM at a critical time as our industry continues to reinvent itself,” she said. “He brings decades of leadership in automotive engineering, tech start-ups, and software innovation. Sterling will help accelerate the pace of progress – he shares our passion and vision for beautifully designed, high-performing, and technology-forward vehicles.”

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Anderson is among the most experienced leaders in autonomous systems and intelligent vehicle design. At Aurora, he co-founded and helped scale one of the most technically ambitious autonomous vehicle companies in the US, culminating in the launch of the country’s first commercial, fully driverless trucking route, running between Houston and Dallas, Texas.

His credentials in autonomous technology date back to his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned both a master’s and Ph.D. in robotics. There, he led the development of the Intelligent Co-Pilot, a semi-autonomous safety system that has informed the evolution of human-machine interaction in automated driving. Prior to Aurora, he held senior roles at Tesla, where he led the Model X programme and played a central role in the team that developed Tesla Autopilot.

”The world is at an inflection point. Advances in foundational technologies have opened opportunities to revolutionize not just how we create products, but what those products can be and do. I look forward to partnering with the talented team at GM to build on the transformation they’ve already begun”

- Sterling Anderson, co-founder and chief product officer, Aurora; EVP, chief product officer, GM

Anderson expressed his belief that GM is well positioned to define the next chapter of the industry. “GM has a deep heritage, bold vision, and the technical foundation to create products that millions of people love,” he said. “The world is at an inflection point. Advances in foundational technologies have opened opportunities to revolutionize not just how we create products, but what those products can be and do. I look forward to partnering with the talented team at GM to build on the transformation they’ve already begun.”

As GM seeks to reduce development cycles and fuse engineering and digital experience, Anderson’s arrival signals an intent to compete on both legacy strengths and future technologies. His ability to bridge software agility with automotive scale may help shape how the company evolves across connected, electric and autonomous domains.