Business & Professional

A GMC LEADER / ON THE COVER

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

Alan Taub,
GM vice
president

Fits R&D To A Tee

GM's only Jewish VP is steadfast
about bringing automaker back globally.

G

eneral Motors, the nation's largest
automotive manufacturer and one
of the largest corporations in the
world, is in a state of uncertainty — get-
ting a government bailout, starting to pay
it back, going in then out of bankruptcy,
getting rid of brands, changing executives
on a regular basis — while attempting to
concentrate on the introduction and sales of
new cars and trucks.
But Dr. Alan Taub of West Bloomfield, the
corporation's only Jewish vice president, is
on a steady keel in his job as head of GM's
global research and development – the
corporation's "head R&D man:'
Despite the travails of the company, Taub
is focused. He and his staff work long hours
on new fuel technology and other technical
projects he hopes will help the 102-year-old
automaker maintain prominent status in
the automotive world.
Taub, 55, who spent several years with
General Electric and Ford Motor Company
before joining GM nine years ago, says he's
glad he made the switch because "I want
to be part of the biggest turnaround in the
auto industry"
Looking out from his office over the
gigantic GM Technical Center in Warren,
Taub points out that "my group is working
hard here and around the world and I know
our efforts will have a role in re-writing
automotive history:'
Taub's career so far, induding his ascen-
dancy to a GM vice presidency Oct. 1, is
a true success story for the Orthodox Jew
from Brooklyn, N.Y.

Early Career
Taub studied engineering at a Brooklyn
technical high school, then got a bachelor's
of science degree in materials engineering
from Brown University, followed by master's
and Ph.D. degrees in applied physics from
Harvard University.
He stayed in the eastern part of the
country, going to work for General Electric
in Schenectady, N.Y. He spent 15 years in
research and development, earning 26
patents — most related to new materials
— and authoring more than 60 techni-
cal papers. He became manager of the
GE Materials Properties and Processes
Laboratory.
"GE is a great company, but my father
was an auto mechanic and cars were a big
part of our family's life," he said. "It was
inevitable that I got into an auto manuac-
turer. I guess I really wanted to be part of
the automotive world all along. I went from
light bulbs to cars."
Taub seized the opportunity when he was

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February 18 • 2010

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