Executive
Driven:
A candid one-on-one
sit down with Kevin
Williams, President
of GM Canada
by
I
David Taylor
t has been almost four years since Kevin Williams
took on the role as President and Managing Director of
General Motors of Canada. In that time—and as far as GM
is concerned, they appear to have turned an important
corner in their re-building. The company is now on a more sure
footing. Recent accolades for which Williams is proud include
GM being honoured by the Automobile Journalists Association
of Canada (AJAC), which named the 2014 GMC Sierra the
“Best New Pickup” in Canada and Chevrolet presented with
AJAC’s “Best New Sports/Performance Car” for the impressive
2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Much of this is the result
of GM globally, and GM Canada specifically, adhering to a
specific plan—and working it through.
As he has stated often to anyone who will listen, “At GM,
our focus is on our customers. And our passion is building the
vehicles that you want to drive, vehicles that –through safety,
design and innovation—will move us into the future. That’s why
we’re committed to building well-engineered, reliable vehicles
with the most advanced technologies.”
10
THE DRIVER
The Driver had
an opportunity
to sit down with
a buoyant Kevin
Williams on the
day before the
2014 edition of
the Canadian
International
Auto Show
(CIAS).
So on February 13, The Driver had an
opportunity to sit down with a buoyant
Kevin Williams on the day before the
2014 edition of the Canadian International
Auto Show (CIAS) opened its doors to a
welcoming public. Williams is known as a
principled individual, not afraid to speak his
mind—and will invariably not back down
from issues or tough questions. Throughout
the conversation on this cold, bleak winter
morning, Williams was cautiously optimistic,
self-deprecating—and above all, forthright.
To add some drama to the discussion was
the occasional throbbing sound of a brand
new, waiting-to-be-revealed 2015 Chevrolet
Corvette Stingray Z06—625 of horsepower
and 635 pound-feet of torque. A prime
example of a North American muscle car
that would debut in the coming hours.