SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 5, 2022 – Warwick Stirling was appointed executive director of the United States Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR), effective Sept. 1, as announced by the USCAR Council. He succeeds retiring USCAR Executive Director Steve Zimmer.
Stirling comes to USCAR with over eight years of automotive experience, including five years at General Motors where he held executive roles in global strategy and innovation. Most recently he served as senior advisor and director of the Global Automotive consulting practice at Roland Berger. Earlier in his career, Stirling was a senior director of Connectivity and Sustainability at Whirlpool Corporation.
“We are very pleased to welcome Warwick as the new USCAR Executive Director,” said Steve Rober, member of USCAR Council and global head of Automotive Research and Engineering at Stellantis. Rober serves on the three-member governing USCAR Council along with Matt Jones director of global technology Ford Motor Company, and Kent Helfrich, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President, Research & Development, General Motors.
“Warwick’s proven leadership in automotive innovation and mobility give him the skills and experience needed to enhance and grow USCAR’s research and development portfolio,” Rober said. “In addition, Warwick will be an asset to USCAR to preserve and grow our important strategic partnerships.”
While a member of Roland Berger’s Global Automotive Practice, Stirling advised and guided automotive OEMs and suppliers as they navigated the transformation of mobility.
At General Motors, Stirling was responsible for driving innovation across the enterprise including new business models and options to grow the company. Stirling led the creation and investments in 40 technical roadmaps covering over 600 R&D, engineering, and product projects. More specifically, these projects and business models leveraged disruptive new technologies: connectivity, autonomous/self-driving tech and sustainable powertrains (electrification and fuel cell).
Prior to these roles, Stirling held significant strategy and innovation positions in multiple industries including home appliances, software services and industrial goods. This included more than five years in management consulting at McKinsey & Co in Atlanta and San Francisco, and cofounding a software startup in Silicon Valley. Prior to General Motors, Stirling held various executive roles at Whirlpool Corporation, including Senior Director Global Innovation and Senior Director Sustainability.
“I look forward to this opportunity to build upon USCAR’s history of success,” Stirling said. “Following long time Executive Director Steve Zimmer will be both an honor and a challenge, but I’m ready to take the wheel and steer USCAR into a new era of technology and mobility research.”
A native of South Africa, Stirling holds a bachelor’s in business from the University of Bath, U.K., a master’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School (UNC-Chapel Hill) and completed design thinking training at Stanford University.
About USCAR
USCAR is the collaborative automotive technology company for Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis. The goal of USCAR is to further strengthen the technology base of the domestic auto industry through cooperative research and development. For more information, visit www.uscar.org.
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