Devereux here for the long run

The headless-chook syndrome that prevailed at General Motors before, during and after the Chapter 11 proceedings last year is at an end. GM has stabilised its executive pool in the new, post-bankruptcy period, says Holden's new managing director, Mike Devereux. Anyone occupying a senior position with the corporation now can reasonably expect to remain in that role for longer than 18 months.

Certainly Devereux, for one, is hoping that his tenure will last years rather than months. So too do his wife and kids, due to join him here in September.

"I know it's a question that's been on people's minds, so I'll address it right up front," he told the press yesterday. "It's our intention, now that we've got what we would call the deckchairs properly laid out at General Motors, to let managing directors and regional presidents run their businesses for longer term periods. And frankly, in GM's history, that's generally what we have done.

"My predecessor in Dubai ran the Middle East for four and half years; his predecessor before him... was there for five years. These are the kinds of longer-term cycles that generally you will see -- and frankly that you need, to be able to get in, assess something, start to make some decisions and actually beat through the entire cycle to see it come to fruition and actually make a positive impact long term on the business.

"That's certainly Ed Whitacre's -- our Chairman's -- intent in this appointment down here in Australia..."

It's unusual for a new MD to expressly state that he will be here for an extended period, but the British-born Canadian follows three short-term appointees in the hot seat at Holden: Alan Batey, Mark Reuss and Chris Gubbey. Collectively, these three chaired Holden for less than three years. All three have moved on to bigger and better jobs and a perception has steadily grown that not only is Holden a good training ground for senior management in waiting, but it also attracts those most likely to scale the heights of leadership.

"You've seen a series of folks through this particular chair, because frankly the company has been through hell and back in the last two years," Devereux continued to explain. "We stared over the edge and we [needed] the right people in the right places...

"A couple of weeks ago, our chairman, Ed Whitacre, said 'the team that's on the field now, is the team that's going to lead us -- in the places that they're leading us'."

After barely a week in the job, Devereux is still learning the ropes at Fishermans Bend. Finding his way around Holden's corporate HQ is his first great challenge, but he is already formulating a positive view of the company he now heads. 

"I've never worked anywhere where the brand is as strong as it is here..." he remarked.

"Most of the time, you're looking at a brand identity that lags the reality of our product in many places that we do business -- and here we have the luxury of having a brand that matches what we put on the road..."

The belief in the brand comes from within, one of the impressions Devereux has formed since arriving here.

"Most of our folks that I talk to here, they work here because they wanted to work for Holden. Not because they wanted to work for some multinational company; they're here because maybe their father worked here, their uncle works here -- and they love cars."

The strong brand following doesn't appear to be contained within the Salmon Street precinct either. With two of the former MDs, Mark Reuss and Alan Batey, occupying important positions with GM in the US, the Holden spirit is alive and well overseas too. But the message was spreading abroad even before these two appointments, according to Devereux.

"We have an incredible talent base in Australia, by virtue of the fact that one of the most iconic products that you would have in the United States, the Camaro [pictured], was fully designed and engineered right here at GM-Holden, so the place has an incredible amount of confidence placed in it by senior leadership at GM."

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