GM is turning to former employees from its failed robotaxi startup Cruise as it embarks on a new self-driving vehicle push.
The Detroit auto giant has hired Ronalee Mann, a former Cruise and Tesla executive, to report to Sterling Anderson, GM’s chief product officer, Business Insider has learned.
Mann, who previously worked as a strategy and operations manager at Cruise, recently joined GM as head of product operations, according to an internal Slack message seen by Business Insider.
Mann left Cruise in April 2024 and also previously worked as a director of strategic programs at Tesla. She will focus on “streamlining” GM’s operations and “removing unnecessary friction” from its “systems, tools, and processes,” Anderson wrote in the Slack announcement.
Anderson, who has previously worked for Tesla as its Autopilot chief, added that Rashed Haq, another former Cruise executive, would join GM as the company’s new VP of autonomy.
In his Slack message, Anderson praised Haq’s work at Cruise, adding that he would “keep us focused on execution and progressing toward safe autonomy.” Haq announced his new role on LinkedIn last week. Mann’s move has not previously been made public.
A spokesperson for GM declined to comment. Mann did not immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment.
GM’s self-driving shake-up
Anderson has shaken up GM’s software divisions since arriving at the century-old automaker in May. Bloomberg reported in August that Anderson, who also cofounded the self-driving startup Aurora, told employees he would seek to rehire some former Cruise employees to help build a new autonomous vehicle platform for personal use.
GM shut down Cruise last December after investing more than $10 billion in the robotaxi startup since 2016.
Cruise got the green light to operate an autonomous robotaxi service in San Francisco alongside Waymo, but was banned from operating in California and had to recall its entire fleet after one of its robotaxis seriously injured a pedestrian.
GM’s software division has seen some significant executive turnover in recent months. The company’s senior VP of software and services engineering and head of AI have both left since October, and CNBC reported last week that senior vice president Baris Cetinok would also depart this month.
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