The former vice president of engineering at Apple’s cloud services division, Mike Abbott, has been hired by GM to serve as the carmaker’s executive vice president of software in a newly-established role.
Abbott had been serving as the head executive of Apple’s cloud initiatives and led the team which developed the infrastructure for iCloud and iMessage. He has also worked at Twitter and Microsoft and will join GM on May 22.
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“We have entered the next phase of our technology-driven transformation focused on rapidly scaling new EV models and our Ultifi software platform, which will drive faster innovation and enable new and exciting customer experiences,” Barra said. “Mike’s experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market’s most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM.”
In his role with The General, Abbott will head up the company’s software-defined vehicle and operating systems as well as information and digital technology and its digital business. His hiring comes shortly after GM revealed it will ditch Android Auto and Apple CarPlay from its forthcoming EVs in favor of its own system. It views software and subscription services as significant contributors to revenue moving forward.
“GM is playing a pivotal role in this shift and I’m excited to join the team and bring my experience in software to bear to not only take advantage of the massive opportunities that lay ahead for the company but to help change the world,” added Abbott in a statement.
