General Motors has appointed the company’s chief cybersecurity officer, Jeffrey Massimilla, as the automaker’s vice president for global vehicle safety and cybersecurity, the company announced.

Massimilla will assume his new role following the Sept. 1 retirement of Jeffrey Boyer, who served in the company for 43 years. Boyer was named GM’s first-ever vice president for global vehicle safety in 2014. He is credited with helping to improve the company’s safety culture following the ignition-switch recall scandal.

As vice president for global vehicle safety and cybersecurity, Massimilla will oversee global responsibility for the safety development of GM vehicle systems, confirmation and validation of safety performance, as well as post-sale safety activities including recalls, GM said in a released statement.

In Massimilla’s current role, he leads the global organization that develops and implements protocols and strategies to reduce vehicle cybersecurity threats.

“In today’s connected world, combating cybersecurity threats has become an integral part of our continued company commitment to quickly identifying and resolving product safety issues of all kinds, so it’s a natural extension for us to combine these two roles into one,” said Mary Barra, GM’s chairman and CEO. “Jeff is a strong leader with a solid track record of leveraging best practices and key learning to further enhance the safety and security of GM’s vehicles and connected services.”

Massimilla joined GM in 2001 as a design release engineer, and he has held multiple roles in both electrical and vehicle product program engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and master’s degrees in industrial and manufacturing engineering and business administration from the University of Michigan. He will continue to serve as vice chair of the Auto Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), which is focused on further advancing cybersecurity protections within the auto industry.