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B I R M I N G H A M
70 | SEPTEMBER 14 • 2023
F
rom Gil Golan’s drive-
way to GM’s Warren
Technical Center, he
has approximately 33 minutes
in his Cadillac CT4 Blackwing
as a man-on-a-mission to
obsess about his company’s
audacious agenda: zero crash-
es, zero emissions and zero
congestion. And by the time
the sun began to glare beside
GM’s headquarters on its
iconic skyscraper
at 6:57 a.m. on
Sept. 1, he also
became a man on
the move with a
new title: GM’s
Chief Technology
Officer (CTO).
Gil Golan most recently
served as GM’s vice president
of Technology Acceleration
and Commercialization (TAC)
and now becomes CTO, vice
president of Global Research
and Development and presi-
dent of GM Ventures.
“
As we work toward our
vision of a world with zero
crashes, zero emissions and
zero congestion, it’s critical
to have a continued focus on
and investment in research,
development and new tech-
nologies,” said Doug Parks,
GM executive vice president of
Global Product Development,
Purchasing and Supply Chain.
“We’re glad to have Gil’s exper-
tise and leadership to guide
our future technology road-
maps through these transfor-
mational times.”
Golan has been engaged
for decades with GM’s HQ
in Detroit, with the GM
Technical Center facility in
Warren, its 710-acre campus
in Southeast Michigan, which
is the central home to over
21,000 employees, as well as
with global offices.
The 58-year-old father of
three and native Israeli has
now completed his third
relocation to Michigan.
He’s divided his family life
over his career between the
two nations with children
who have been born and
grown up in Detroit. His wife,
Michal, also from Israel, is an
attorney who has worked with
a Detroit law firm. His entire
career has been in automotive
and largely within General
Motors, despite recruitment
from prominent technology
companies.
“GM is my home,” he said.
“I’m trying to support both the
local community as well as …
doing whatever I can to make
GM the best company on the
planet. I’m committed — and
when I’m committed, I’m put-
ting 110% of my time, energy
and effort to make it happen.”
A WINNING TRACK
RECORD
His record at the compa-
ny is one of dedication and
achievement. Golan has been
with GM since the late 1990s
and previously held executive
positions in the U.S., includ-
ing as director for Global
Strategy with GM Research &
Development and as a director
with GM Corporate Venture
Capital. He remarked on the
unique nature of research done
at a company such as GM with
one of the most established
and successful research units
of any multinational firm. The
company and its record of
innovation goes back over a
century.
One of its earliest notable
inventions was the world’s first
lacquer paint system and the
first commercial room air con-
ditioner in the 1920s. The next
decade would bring about the
hydraulic valve lifter and the
manufacturing of tanks and
planes for World War II, span-
ning two-cycle engines and
super fuel for aircraft, landing
crafts and military surveillance
equipment.
The 1950s would lead to
the first mechanical open-
heart surgery heart pump and
machines to sterilize blood and
vaccines, which led to appli-
cations to manufacture new
vaccines such as the Salk polio
vaccine. This decade would
also incubate the computer
operating system in 1956.
The year 1970 saw the first
use of unleaded gasoline
demonstrated by its research
laboratory followed by
advancements in frontal crash
testing and then the introduc-
tion of airbags and the first
catalytic converter.
More recent innovations
over the last few decades have
focused on the advancement
of solar technology, humanoid
robots and the first extend-
ed-range electric vehicle to
reach the market with the
introduction of the Chevrolet
Volt.
There’s a strong realization
that the playbook that got GM
to this point will need to be
He’s Got His
Foot on the Gas
Israeli Gil Golan promoted to GM
Chief Technology Officer.
ADAM FINKEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Gil Golan at the New Site
event in November 2017
Gil Golan