GM shakes things up big-time, cuts several top jobs, but promotes 'racer' Brent Dewar to a key position

  GM's Brent Dewar: a key mover-and-shaker, and the man behind Tony Stewart's return to Chevrolet (Photo: GM)
  

   By Mike Mulhern
   mikemulhern.net

   INDIANAPOLIS
   In what looks like good news for NASCAR's Chevrolet teams: a major General Motors shakeup Thursday puts racing aficionado Brent Dewar in charge of the entire Chevrolet brand world-wide.
   The 54-year-old Dewar, currently running GM's European operations, will take over as head of the "global" Chevrolet brand, which will include Chevrolet in North America.
   Dewar's boss will be Bob Lutz, who is GM's new head of marketing and communication.
   Lutz is one of the eight key men on the "executive committee" that GM CEO Fritz Henderson -- looking for a meaner, leaner operation – has created. The others are Tom Stephens as boss of global product development, Nick Reilly as head of international operations, Ray Young as chief financial officer, Tim Lee as head of global manufacturing and labor relations, John Smith as boss of corporate planning and alliances, Mark LaNeve and head of U.S. sales, and Bob Socia as boss of global purchasing and supply,
   Henderson is also pruning jobs.
   Among the men leaving GM: Ralph Szygenda, chief information officer; Troy Clarke, president of GM North America (Henderson himself will now be in charge of North American operations); Maureen Kempston Darkes, in charge of GM's Latin America, Africa and Middle-East projects; Michael Grimaldi, CEO of GM Daewoo; and Jonathan Browning, head of global sales, service and marketing.
   Ed Peper, who has been running GM's North American Chevy operations, is moving over to Cadillac as general sales manager.