I vesting  Sciety A Commitment to Community

An Interview with James E. Taylor, Chief Executive Offi cer, Division, Corporation

EDITORS’ NOTE James Taylor was regardless of where our fa- appointed Chief Executive Offi cer, cilities are located. HUMMER, in October 2008. He was in terms of safety, our head of the actual vehicle, it’s about unparalleled per- previously the General Manager, manufacturing, gary cowger, took this formance. one of the primary receivers of Division. Prior to this, on with a huge passion several years hummer’s charitable contributions has been Taylor progressed through various ago. safety in our plants and with our the american red cross. hummer has commit- global production and purchas- employees is taken very seriously, and ted to donate 72 disaster response vehicles and ing leadership positions with the we have a phenomenal track record to signifi cant fi nancial support by 2010 to support company, including Vehicle Line support that. the red cross emergency response capability Executive for General Motors’ (GM) the health care category probably around the country. it’s a good deed, and it rear- and all-wheel-drive luxury gets the most personal involvement gains high exposure for hummer, demonstrat- , and management positions at because each of the senior executives ing how its vehicles are helping out in a lot of Saturn, Adam , and General James E. Taylor is aligned with certain high-profi le circumstances where normal vehicles can’t. Motors Truck. Taylor began his GM causes to channel gm spending to the we also are committed to environmental career in 1980 with GM of Canada Limited in right organizations. there isn’t a weekend that stewardship and education. people who buy Oshawa, Ontario, as an industrial engineer. goes by where we, despite being in an industry enjoy the outdoors and go places Taylor graduated from McMaster University, that’s facing huge fi nancial challenges, aren’t at they can’t get to in normal vehicles. many of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, in 1980 with a a charity fund-raising event personally support- these people are serious hunters, fi shers, and bachelor of science degree in mechanical engi- ing these worthwhile causes. while we have to hikers, so they’re environmentally conscious. neering. He is active in children’s charities, in- be very careful where we spend money due to in fact, many of them feel a high amount of cluding the Band of Angels Foundation, which the tough fi nancial times, it’s still phenomenal social responsibility to keep the environment helps children with Down syndrome. to witness how active and dedicated our leader- undisturbed. in that regard, we established ship remains. an environmental stewardship program called COMPANY BRIEF General Motors Corporation When you look at those issues, such as recreation rescue with tread lightly!, which is (NYSE: GM), one of the world’s largest automak- education and the environment, is it impor- a national nonprofi t program that is dedicated ers, was founded in 1908, and today manu- tant that the individual follow suit to protect recreation access and opportunities factures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With with those categories, or does each in the outdoors through education and stew- its global headquarters in , GM employs look within to determine what the employ- ardship initiatives. the recreation rescue ini- 252,000 people in every major region of the ees are interested in? tiative specifi cally targets outdoor rehabilitation world, and sells and services vehicles in some For those big picture items, we have the projects. it’s volunteer based, so local off-road 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million gm Foundation dedicated to making sure we clubs, and hummer owners and dealers, go out cars and trucks globally under the following appropriately support those major national and on weekends and work with the park rangers to brands: , Cadillac, , GMC, GM global initiatives. when it comes to the brands, maintain trails in national forests and parks. this Daewoo, , Hummer, Opel, , Saab, however, we have the freedom to engage the is aligned directly with hummer’s positioning Saturn, Vauxhall, and Wuling. charities and organizations that make sense for and brand. us. at the community level, for instance, a man- How critical is it that the emphasis on How much of a focus has corporate social ufacturing plant that is the largest employer in CSR comes from the top and feeds through- responsibility [CSR] been for GM and its town might be sponsoring the boys and girls out the company? Do you really need the brands, and have you seen a heavy empha- clubs, boy scouts, or another local cause. in involvement of senior management? sis on that as a key part of the culture of the end, it is up to the brand and site leaders to csr is elective and involves variable costs the brand? decide how to focus on something that is im- and personal time, including a lot of weekend we are responsible to the markets that we portant to them. in my case, at cadillac, we fo- and nighttime work; this is on top of our normal service and the communities in which we live, cused on children’s charities. i have some close job. so if people are doing it, it’s because they work, and play. there’s also the greater responsi- friends who have children in need of special believe in it and care, and it’s important. it is a bility to global social interests, and these are tar- care, so i’ve tried to align myself with national priority or else it wouldn’t fi t in. so when the geted through a focus on energy, environment, autism societies and with the band of angels people at the top are involved, they set a tone education, safety, diversity, and health care. in Foundation, which is for children with down and an example for everyone in the company. the area of environmental responsibility, our ef- syndrome. we’ve been able to make a very the employees draw their conclusions of what’s forts include alternative fuels, plug-in hybrids, large impact with a small amount of money. important from leadership by how the leaders internal combustion engine improvements, and As you lead HUMMER, do you foresee act, not by what’s written on some corporate hydrogen fuel cells. it also includes reducing much of that charity work continuing for web site.• the amount of waste and emissions from our that brand, or do you see a shift when you plants. we also maintain a commitment to fol- look at those efforts? General Motors is as committed to the health of even the tiniest low a worldwide set of environmental standards, For hummer’s brand positioning and HUMMER owners as it is to the rest of society. 88 Leaders posted with permission. copyright © 2009 leaders magazine, inc. volume 32, number 2