It has just been announced that one of Black Enterprise’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America, Alicia Boler-Davis, will become the Executive Vice President of Manufacturing for General Motors Co.
Boler-Davis began her career with GM in 1994 and has served in various engineering and manufacturing leadership positions, including vehicle line director and vehicle chief engineer for small cars, and plant manager for Lansing’s Consolidated Operations and Arlington Assembly.
Her most recent position was as General Motors senior vice president, global connected customer experience, where she led GM’s connected customer activities (including OnStar), as well as the call center’s following 3 years as senior vice president of global quality and customer experience.
In her new role, Boler-Davis will report to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, and will lead 180,000 employees at 171 facilities in 31 countries. She will also have responsibility for labor relations.
“With all the change facing our industry in the next several years, Alicia’s vast and diverse experience and proven track record for delivering results will help ensure our global manufacturing performance and capabilities are aligned to meet the challenges ahead,†said Barra. “Alicia’s strong manufacturing background, combined with her recent roles leading quality and the customer experience, will allow us to grow an even stronger customer-focused link to our people and processes in manufacturing.â€
This has been quite the year for Boler-Davis. Earlier this year she was named the 2016 Corporate Executive of the Year at the 24th Annual Trumpet Awards, where she was recognized for her accomplishments and impact on the industry, thus far, with GM.
“Throughout my career, I was pushed to try new things–things that I hadn’t done before, and things that I couldn’t have imagined doing,†says Boler-Davis upon receipt of the award. “I truly believe that each of us can put our talents to use to change the world if we are willing to be bold, to take risks, and to write the books that need to be written.â€