Management Round-Up: Latest from GM, Nissan, and Subaru

Subaru of America, Inc. announced on July 18 the retirement of central and western regional vice presidents Casey Griffin and Tony Graziano. Each is retiring after decades of dedicated service in multiple roles for Subaru across the country.

Griffin is set to retire in January of 2024, after a 19-year career at Subaru, and 44 years overall in the automotive industry. He started as the regional service operations manager. As regional vice president for the last 12 years, Griffin has grown the Central Region from 17% of the company's national business to 27%.

Nytasha Walker will transition into the role of regional vice president for the Central Region in October.

Over her 18-year career with Subaru, Walker has worked across six states and held 11 different positions including district sales manager, zone marketing manager, market development manager, field marketing manager, associate zone director, and is currently zone director in Atlanta.

In her new Chicago-based role as Central Region RVP, she will oversee nearly 170 Subaru retailers in 20 states.

After a 25-year career at Subaru, Graziano is set to retire in August. Having started in the automotive business in 1985, Graziano has been part of transformational industry changes, as well as leaps in U.S. sales and market share for the Subaru brand. Over the years, he has held numerous leadership roles in New Jersey, Chicago, and Denver. At each post, Graziano cultivated the Subaru culture of giving back and community involvement known today as the Subaru Love Promise.

Dallas Zone director David Adams will succeed Graziano in the role of regional vice president for the Western Region. Adams joined Subaru in 2010, as the Zone retail development manager after having spent the previous 20-plus years in the automotive industry.

Adams has been influential in the strategic growth of key Sunbelt markets for the Subaru brand. In his new Denver-based role as Western Region RVP, he will oversee more than 140 Subaru retailers in 11 states.

“Building upon what Tony and Casey have worked hard to foster over so many years, I’m excited for Dave and Nytasha to bring their passion for the Subaru brand as they continue to grow our market share in key areas,” said senior vice president of sales Troy Poston at Subaru in a recent news release.

In their new roles, Adams and Walker are each responsible for vehicle allocation and distribution, retailer market development, fixed operations, marketing, sales, product training, and customer satisfaction for hundreds of Subaru retailers across the Western and Central U.S.

GM Names Norm de Greve as Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer

General Motors also named Norm de Greve as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. De Greve joins GM from CVS Health, where he has served as chief marketing officer since 2015.

De Greve’s appointment is effective July 31, 2023. He will report to GM president Mark Reuss.

While at CVS Health, de Greve, helped transform the company from America’s corner drug store to the largest consumer health care company in the country, moving it to sixth place on the Fortune 500.

During that time, CVS earned the highest national reputation in health care, became the most trusted retailer in America, and consistently gained market share. Prior to joining CVS Health, de Greve worked at digital marketing firm Digitas in a variety of positions from 2001-2014, including serving as president of the Boston and Detroit offices, where he spent multiple years working to advance digital marketing for GM.

While at Digitas, he helped transform the agency from a regional powerhouse to the world’s leader in digital marketing. He spent the first decade of his career in investment management and management consulting.

“Norm is an experienced marketing leader with a proven track record of building brands and supporting business growth in a digital world,” said GM president Mark Reuss in a recent news release. “His broad background, including time spent at Digitas working with GM, is the perfect fit as we continue our technology-driven transformation.”

De Greve has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business, and by Business Insider as one of the most innovative CMOs in the world and he has also earned an Emmy Award.

De Greve graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Ithaca College and an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Nissan Appoints New Vice President To Lead U.S And Canada Finance Division

Nissan on July 18 promoted John Mack to vice president of finance in the U.S. and Canada. In this role, Mack will be responsible for leading the finance functional controllers and accounting teams.

Currently director, Financial Planning & Analysis, Mack has nearly 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, including 17 years with Nissan. Mack holds a master’s in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from The Ohio State University.

Mack will begin his role Aug. 1, and continue to be based at Nissan Americas regional headquarters in Franklin. He will report to Mark Kaczynski, regional senior vice president, Finance & Information Technology.