GM India President Named to Head Korean Operations

General Motors names GM India President and Managing Director Kaher Kazem to the GM Korea leadership vacuum left by last month’s sudden departure of CEO James Kim.

Kim had headed GM Korea for only 18 months before announcing he was leaving effective Aug. 31 to become chairman of the Korea American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul.

GM International President Stefan Jacoby announced Aug. 17 that Kazem will take over as GM Korea CEO on Sept. 1. Kazem is expected to be named later as chairman of GM Korea’s board of directors.

Kazem’s appointment partially offsets speculation Kim’s departure signaled GM is planning to pull out of South Korea.

GM announced in May it would stop selling Chevrolet vehicles, its only brand offered in India, by the end of 2017, which likely would have diminished the need for Kazem to remain in that post. Indeed, his successor will wear two hats, taking over from Kazem without giving up his current position.

Kazem’s current CEO post goes to Sanjin Gupta, GM India’s chief financial officer. Gupta will take over the president and managing director position and remain CFO.

“We are pleased to have Kaher taking over GM’s key operations in Korea,” Jacoby says in a release. “As a car guy, Kaher has had a long and distinguished career in manufacturing, business operations and leading key markets in the automotive industry. He has the experience and global perspective to lead GM Korea to a sustainable and competitive future.”

With respect to Gupta, Jacoby says: “Sanjiv Gupta is an experienced GM leader who has been a driving force behind our strategy. Sanjiv will continue to lead our plan to achieve better financial performance in India.”

Kazem says in a statement: “I will work closely with our team and business partners to turn around GM Korea’s financial performance and ensure the sustainability of our business.

“Chevrolet is a strong brand in Korea. I look forward to building on its success and continuing to put our customers in Korea at the center of everything we do.”

GM is selling its Halol plant in India to SAIC, the U.S. automaker’s joint-venture partner in China. GM also will end production for the local market at its other plant in Talegaon and convert that facility into an export-only operation.

GM’s exports from India nearly doubled to 70,969 vehicles in the 2016 fiscal year. The Talegaon plant’s annual production capacity is 130,000 vehicles.

According to Jacoby, exports from Talegaon will be directed mainly to Mexico and South American markets and will have no negative impact on GM Korea’s export operations.

GM Korea, which relies on exports for its survival, ships mostly to North America, Australia, selected Southeast Asia markets and the Middle East. Its plants in Bupyeong, Gunsan and Changwon have the capacity for producing 750,000 vehicles annually.