KELLY GLADNEY

Served as Managing Director for Global Technology Operations (GTO), a separate legal entity overseeing General Motors’ entire intellectual property portfolio, leading a team of 25 specialists to ensure strategic alignment with business objectives and maximize the value of GM’s IP assets.

• Partnered with senior leadership, including the North American President, Global Engineering Senior VP, Chief Legal & Public Policy Officer, Chief Information Technology Officer, and C-suite Engineering Executives, to develop and implement high-impact IP monetization and innovation strategies, driving revenue growth and enhancing GM’s competitive advantage in the global market.
• Collaborated with external partners, including Shanghai-GM, Nissan, and Cruise (Automation), to define engineering roles and responsibilities and establish information-sharing protocols for co-developments and Engineering Service Agreements, while negotiating vehicle licensing agreements that generated hundreds of millions in annual revenue growth.
• Played a key role in GM Opel’s transition during its sale to PSA, spending extensive time in Germany and France to lead the strategic separation of intellectual property, ensuring a smooth divestiture while maintaining business continuity for vehicles and technologies in production.
• Served as Strategic Risk Officer for GM Global Propulsion Systems, utilizing game theory and advanced analytical methods to identify vulnerabilities and implement effective countermeasures. Key achievements included reducing costs for catalytic converter precious metals and optimizing the electric battery manufacturer footprint, driving both cost efficiency and operational resilience.
• Optimized government contract processes, enhancing proposal development, contract administration, and organizational readiness for awarded agreements.
• Led the Invention Review Board, identifying and incubating groundbreaking ideas from employees until projects were formally chartered.
• Curated the prestigious Boss Kettering Award process, recognizing employees and teams for industry-leading innovation in production vehicles.

Represented GM as an Engineering Executive at PATAC, a high-profile joint venture between General Motors and China’s state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), driving engineering strategies that aligned with GM's global objectives and supported critical China market expansion initiatives.

• Led a team of 140+ engineers, driving product development for both global and China markets.
• Led PATAC to successfully collaborate with the GM North American Design Studio and GM Opel Engineering Homeroom to engineer and launch the Buick LaCrosse and Opel interior Mid-Cycle Enhancement for both North America and China. This milestone program marked the first initiative engineered by PATAC, establishing a foundation for future global collaboration
• Enhanced PATAC's internal design capabilities by sharing GM Best Practices and enabling B-surface design development, previously outsourced to part suppliers. This initiative reduced PATAC’s reliance on supplier design resources by 30%, while also standardizing global tooling processes and eliminating the need for retooling parts when the business was resourced.
• Collaborated closely with GM North American purchasing to identify and engage local Chinese interior suppliers with the capability and strategic interest in producing parts for GM's global operations, expanding GM's supplier base and supporting global production goals.
• Delivered over ¥121 million RMB in cost savings through strategic cost reduction initiatives in 2014.
• Successfully launched key Application Engineering programs in China, including the Cadillac XTS, Cadillac ATS-L, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Trax, and Buick Encore.

Led a North American Product Engineering Team of 200+ engineers across the US and Mexico to design, engineer, and establish Global Best Practices for key interior components, including door trim, floor consoles, mechanisms, decorative trim, carpets, acoustics, cargo/trunk trim, and interior lighting, ensuring consistent quality and performance standards across markets.

• Combined designer and engineer roles and implemented the "designing engineer" concept for door trim and floor consoles at the GM Toluca Regional Engineering Center (TREC), enhancing collaboration with the US studio, reducing points of contact, streamlining communication, and improving overall efficiency in the design and engineering process. This initiative marked a significant milestone in capability development at TREC, expanding their expertise beyond trunk trim to include more complex interior components.
• Implemented global BOM Row design best practices, leveraging Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) tools to drive standardization and efficiency.
• Implemented light weighting strategies for door panels, rear compartment trim, and acoustics, achieving significant weight reductions while ensuring optimal vehicle-level acoustic performance and maintaining design integrity.
• Enhanced JD Power ratings by improving rear compartment and under-hood perceived quality, elevating customer satisfaction and brand perception.
• Led the transition team to relocate the Interior Engineering homeroom from Brazil to the US for the next-generation Mid-Size Truck, addressing FMVSS 201U performance concerns and ensuring compliance with safety standards while maintaining project timelines and quality.

Served in a dual-hatted role during bankruptcy and headcount reduction pressures as both the Engineering Group Manager for Interior Garnish and Overhead Systems, leading a team of 20+ engineers, and as the single point of contact for the Interior Subsystem Management Team (SMT) with PRogram Teams.

• Led the design and development of FMVSS01U-compliant garnish trim and overhead systems for all GM North American small car platforms and performance cars, ensuring compliance and quality across multiple vehicle categories.
• Acted as the sole Interior Subsystem Management Team (SMT) interface for the Chevy Cruze, Buick Verano, Pontiac Solstice Coupe, and Corvette ZR1 Program Teams, ensuring seamless coordination and successful execution across high-profile programs.
• Collaborated with Global Engineering Centers, including the GM Opel (Germany) architecture homeroom and the GM DAT (South Korea) vehicle homeroom, to design an FMVSS201U-compliant Chevy Cruze for North America, an unplanned addition to the portfolio. The GM DAT Chevy Cruze lacked passenger, side, and roof rail airbags, as well as B-Side surface data for the components where airbags would be packaged. Led extensive negotiations with GM DAT to undertake unplanned design work and generate new B-Side surface data, as North America was not authorized to re-engineer surfaces due to resource constraints

Led a group of 25 Supplier Quality Engineers (SQEs) supporting interior safety components including airbags and restraints.

• Supported the Engineering Electrical Subsystem Management Team (SMT) in the development and implementation of GM’s first endeavors in creating global electrical architectures, including Common Arch and Global A working to identify and onboard strategic suppliers with the capacity and capability to meet rigorous quality and production requirements.
• Relocated SQEs to the Vehicle Engineering Center and embedded them with their Engineering counterparts to improve synergy and responsiveness.
• Led a pilot project to train Supplier Quality Engineers in conducting Automotive Software Process and Capability Determination (ASPICE) assessments, enhancing GM Global A strategic suppliers' software development capabilities and compliance with industry standards.
• Implemented Lot Acceptance Testing (LAT) with key airbag suppliers due to inflator issues uncovered during validation.
• Special Assignment as the acting Interior Director: Led critical supplier recovery plans during pivotal year North American product launches, including the Cadillac DTS, Hummer H3, Saab 9X, Pontiac Solstice, and Saturn Sky. Traveled to GM assembly plants and key suppliers alongside the Purchasing VP to develop and implement recovery strategies, ensuring successful launches despite supply chain challenges.

Led GM Powertrain Advanced Supplier Quality initiatives for groundbreaking new engine and transmission programs, implementing robust quality standards and driving supplier performance to ensure flawless launches and sustained manufacturing excellence.

• Managed a group of 30 Supplier Quality Engineers for responsible for all APQP activities thru Start of Regular Production (SORP) + 12 weeks.
• Established a Supplier Quality Launch support organization to drive PPAP readiness and enable rapid response to build issues.
• Collaborated with Ford Motor Company Supplier Technical Assistance (STA) to jointly manage the supply base for common components in the co-developed GM and Ford 6-speed transmission variants, ensuring seamless integration, supplier alignment, and high-quality execution across both OEMs.

Partnered with Purchasing, Engineering, and Supplier leadership to implement a new supplier-driven model, enabling suppliers to design, engineer, and manufacture complete interiors for General Motors programs, significantly reducing GM engineering headcount.

• Managed a group of 18 Supplier Quality Engineers who led the APQP and PPAP activities for all Lear Interior Supplier Integrated Programs, primarily supporting luxury cars and trucks.
• Established PPAP glide paths with defined targets for Approved parts by build event, driving supplier and organizational readiness.
• Optimized Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) by developing Global GM requirements and implemented web-based tools for GM and supplier collaboration, reducing PPAP submission lead time by 20%.
• Represented General Motors on the Supplier Council, advocating for quality improvements and strategic supplier collaboration.

Led continuous improvement and cost reduction initiatives for GM Truck injection-molded and painted exterior trim commodities, including cladding, fascias, running boards, and roof racks.

• Served as Creativity Team Leader, collaborating with Engineering and Quality teams to revise appearance standards for "Class A" exterior painted components, reducing scrap, waste, and overall cost.
• Provided training and guidance to junior team members on best practices in purchasing, fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the procurement department.
• Led cost reduction initiatives for wheel covers, standardizing silver paint options from over 75 to just 10 across all GM models, significantly reducing complexity and costs.
• Coordinated with logistics teams to resolve any shipping delays or discrepancies while minimizing impact on operations.

Served as a Supplier Quality Engineer across Interior, Exterior, Chassis, and Electrical commodities, leading Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP), New Product Launches, and Continuous Improvement initiatives to enhance supplier performance and manufacturing quality.

• Traveled to assigned supplier facilities to verify supplier staff qualifications via multiple modes of inspection and investigation.
• Analyzed data trends to identify opportunities for process optimizations among the existing supplier network.
• Benchmarked NUMMI manufacturing best practices and eliminated Interim PPAP Levels (A-E), which were often misinterpreted as a grading scale. Streamlined component status for build events with a clear, simplified classification system: "Approved", "Saleable," and "Non-Saleable."
• Represented GM Truck in refining the AIAG First Edition PPAP Manual, contributing to the development of industry-wide quality standards.