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Liz Wetzel Strategic Vision - Innovation - Design Execution I N T R O D U C T I O N Proven, Award-Winning Automotive Design Director with extensive leadership experience in the following: • Production Automotive Interior Design • Strategic Vision and Innovation • Advanced Automotive Interior Design • Brand Strategy Vision and Development • User UX /UI Design My success is a result of my ability to motivate, empower, and inspire designers and include and collaborate with cross-functional partners to achieve excellent results together - on time with quality. I am known for my enthusiasm, collaborative / inclusive approach, and drive for innovation. D E S I G N E X P E R I E N C E H I G H L I G H T S General Motors Global Design I have seized the opportunity to take on many roles within General Motor’s Global Design including the following examples: Global Design Director, UX Product Design: I was recruited by executive leadership to take on this role to lead the creation of the vision, development, and execution of ground-breaking UX Product Designs for all of GM’s Global Brands. Launch of these products to debut in 2020-22. Also initiated and led a cross-functional 2030 UX Vision Workshop which resulted in product briefs of UX ideas that were inserted into GM Technology Roadmaps for future development. Global Brand Design Director: I created and led an all-new internal start-up design studio to gain greater distinction between GM’s 11 global automotive brands. Given carte blanche from the Global VP of Design to develop compelling brand visions and strategies, I took it further to lead the design the entire-end to-end customer experience from pixels to product - to visualize a consistent and unique brand design identity and character through every customer touch point. Interior Design Director, General Motors Europe: I led the development and execution of brand strategy, award winning Automotive Interior Designs (Interior of the Year, Red Dot Design Award, Car of the Year) for the Opel, Vauxhall, and Chevrolet Brands. In addition to Interior Design, I led the following departments: Color & Trim, User Interface Design, Seat Design, and Design Quality. Over the span of my career at General Motors Design, I executed and led over 25 production automotive designs and 7 concept vehicles. P R O F E S S I O N A L S K I L L S • Brand Strategy • Facilitate Workshops • Strategic Vision and Innovation • Journey Mapping • Benchmarking and Trend Tracking • Problem Solving • Automotive Interior Design Vision, Development, and Execution • Drive for Efficiencies ( in product and • UX Product Design Vision, Development, and Execution process.) A P P R O A C H I continually stay on top of industry trends, anticipate what is next, and drive the organization to move forward and create the future. I gain support by creating vision events and trend reports that point to the need to innovate and advance the product experience. I use design thinking methodologies to visualize the entire end-to-end customer journey to unearth opportunities to enhance and improve the customer experience. I am ambidextrous and have created proposals to gain efficiencies and improve output of the development process. I have also initiated smart re-use product strategies that has saved millions of dollars for General Motors while creating better product with higher quality. Never satisfied with the status quo, I am always pushing to make bold moves where needed to improve the product and customer experience and am able to discern where to invest and where to save to balance the business case. Liz Wetzel E D U C A T I O N BACHELOR’S DEGREE BFA Cum Laude, Industrial Design, University of Michigan, STAMPS School of Art and Design. EXECUTIVE EDUCATION University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Leading with Impact University of Illinois School of Business, Executive Development Program W O R K E X P E R I E N C E Lawrence Technological University August 2019 – Present: Co-Director, Transportation Design Department, College of Architecture and Design • Co-Leading the entire Transportation Design Department and responsible for the curriculum, syllabi, recruiting adjuncts and professors, and marketing. • Was recruited for my industry experience to overhaul the current curriculum to evolving industry standards and new mobility. W O R K E X P E R I E N C E General Motors Global Design 2016 – March 2019: Global Design Director, UX Product Design • Led the vision, development, and execution of all UX Products for all of GM’s global brands and product lines. • Initiated the inception and execution of a cross-departmental effort to develop future interface visions for all GM Brands. My mission was to get product ideas generated, approved, funded, and developed to be shelf-ready for GM’s next generation of vehicles. • Brand purpose, customer personas, and day-in-the-life scenarios enabled collective brainstorming of ideas. • The end result was a GM UX Vision Event where ideas were demonstrated for each brand using seating bucks coupled with virtual reality and short day-in-the-life videos demonstrating the brand and customer experience through a narrative. This was the event that eventually led to GM leadership approval to start development with engineering and suppliers. • Also responsible for the conceptualization and execution of all UX Product designs for current vehicle programs. Challenged current processes and products for optimization, which saved GM millions of dollars in reduced parts, tooling, and suppliers, while increasing quality. • Recently initiated, organized, and led a 2030 UX Vision Workshop with the Brand Design Studios, Product Planning, Engineering, R&D, and UI Engineering department to begin brainstorming ideas that incorporated the influence of 5G+, IoT, electrification, and autonomous technologies. The result was the creation of multiple product briefs that were inserted into technology road maps for future development. 2013 - 2016: Global Director of Buick Interior Design • Responsible for the global coordination of Buick brand strategy and interior design with the local design team and GM partners in China and Europe. • Immediately initiated a refresh of the Buick Brand with all global stakeholders. Led the development of Buick Brand signature elements that translated into all touch points - design, features, trim level strategies, to reflect this new direction. The overarching vision also influenced marketing messaging. • Led the conceptualization, development, and execution of the 2018 Buick Enclave Interior Design with my design team into production. (Top 10 Luxury Interior Designs, 2018). In addition, led the award-winning interior designs of two Buick concept vehicles, the Avenir and the Avista. • Initiated and led a 2020 Buick Vision project that focused on the interior design and UX technology elements. Led the brainstorming of ideas through the lens of a-day-in-the-life narrative to capture the Buick customer’s end-to-end interface experience. This was done in collaboration with my design team, the Visualization Team, Advanced Engineering, and R& D. The outcome was a presentation to leadership via a day-in-the-life video and seating buck to demonstrate the UX concepts. These were inserted into the Buick brand technology roadmaps. This effort earned my next assignment as Global Director UX Product Design. 2010 – 2013: GM of Europe Design Center, Director of Interior Design • Led the design and execution all Opel, Vauxhall, and Chevrolet interior designs in GM Europe. Responsibilities in this assignment were broad and encompassed the following departments: Production Interior Design, Color & Trim, Component Design, User Interface Design, Seat Design, and Perceived Quality. • The Opel ADAM was conceived as a product idea when I led the Global Brand Studio (See below). In this role I was able to execute the product into production. It won several awards including the Red Dot Design Award and European Interior of the Year Award for it’s creative design, use of color and trim, and high perceived quality. Liz Wetzel W O R K E X P E R I E N C E General Motors Global Design - continued 2009 - 2010: Global Director of Cross Brand Strategy Design • Responsible for leading two of General Motor’s Global Design studios: Global Color & Trim as well as Global Interior Components & Human Interface Design (HMI). • Developed and executed a brand-focused approach to develop signature brand interfaces and experiences for both studios. Leveraged all of the style guides from my previous role as Director of the Brand Studio to create brand distinct graphics for touch screens and instrumentation, as well as brand unique executions of color, trim, textures, patterns, and paint. • I led a high level of global collaboration and coordination as these two studios were the center of expertise to define the direction for the Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC brands. 2005-2009: Global Brand Design Director • A newly formed position of an internal start up studio that reported directly to the Global Vice President of GM Design. Was solely responsible for recruiting the team, establishing the space, equipment, and methodology. • Charged with developing brand design strategies for each of GM’s 11 global brands to get greater separation and distinctive reasons for being and target customers. • Leader and facilitator of a global collaborative approach to bring all key stakeholders into the process and ensure connection and commitment to the vision. • Succeeded in the creative execution of each brand’s ‘character’ as the foundation for all product and customer experiences. • Brand Essence documents, brand essence videos, style guides, website designs, merchandise, dealership designs, auto show displays, and brand focused technologies and product portfolios were some of the assets created. • Two major Brand Experience events showcased all the work for GM’s two most important brands – Chevrolet and Cadillac.

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