General Motors (GM) has appointed Sterling Anderson, former head of Tesla’s Autopilot program and co-founder of Aurora Innovation, as executive vice president, global product, and chief product officer, effective June 2. Anderson will report to GM President Mark Reuss and oversee the full lifecycle of the automaker’s gas and electric vehicles, including hardware, software, services, and user experience.
The move marks the first time since Bob Lutz’s 2001 hiring that GM has brought in an external executive to lead product development. Anderson will be based at GM’s Mountain View Tech Center in California.
“Sterling joins GM at a critical time as our industry continues to reinvent itself,” said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra in the company’s press release. “He brings decades of leadership in automotive engineering, tech start-ups, and software innovation. Sterling will help accelerate the pace of progress.”
Anderson steps into a pivotal role as GM expands its electric vehicle lineup and shifts its autonomy strategy following the shutdown of its Cruise robotaxi unit. He joins a growing cohort of Tesla alumni at GM, including battery chief Kurt Kelty and board member Jon McNeill. Barra has increasingly sought out leadership talent from Silicon Valley to drive modernization at the 120-year-old automaker.
Before co-founding Aurora in 2017, Anderson led the development of Tesla’s Model X and later directed the Autopilot driver-assist program. He holds a master’s and Ph.D. in robotics from MIT, where he helped develop the Intelligent Co-Pilot. This semi-autonomous system contributed to the evolution of human-machine vehicle interaction.
At Aurora, Anderson recently helped launch the first commercial, fully driverless trucking service in the U.S., operating between Houston and Dallas. He stepped down as chief product officer earlier this month.
In a LinkedIn post acknowledging his new role, Anderson wrote, “There’s more to GM than meets the eye: the institution is not just building vehicles; it’s shaping how people live and connect.”
President Mark Reuss said Anderson’s leadership will help GM shorten development cycles and better integrate software with vehicle platforms. “Our customers are expecting more from our vehicles than ever before,” Reuss said. “Sterling is the right leader to help GM continue leading now and into the future.”
The hire comes as GM continues gaining U.S. EV market share, with 12 models currently on sale and a new Chevy Bolt set to launch later this year. The company is also working to reduce EV costs and improve profitability, using a battery strategy led by Kelty. Anderson’s experience across autonomy, electrification, and software is expected to support these efforts and GM’s broader transition to a more tech-driven automaker.
