As new vehicles become more and more technologically advanced and employ more tech features, automakers are seeking out folks that work for tech giants in Silicon Valley, which makes perfect sense. Ford has hired many of these tech-savvy folks in recent years, including former Apple executives Jennifer Waldo, Doug Field, and Kevin Lynch. However, it isn’t just The Blue Oval recruiting folks from Silicon Valley to join its operation, as its chief crosstown rival – GM – is doing precisely the same thing, according to GM Authority.
Recently, General Motors poached its own Apple veteran –Â Mike Abbott, who previously served as the tech giant’s Vice President of Engineering for the Cloud Services division, to be its new Executive Vice President, Software. When he officially reports to his new position later this month, Abbott will report directly to GM CEO Mary Barra.
Abbott has extensive experience in the fields of cloud computing, storage, networking, and security, and in his previous position, led development of various Apple services like iCloud, iMessage, Private Relay, Mail and account security. That experience figures to serve him well in his new role, where Abbott will lead a team that focuses on the delivery of digital services and features to both retail and commercial customers, as well as vehicle and enterprise software technology and solutions.
“We have entered the next phase of our technology driven transformation focused on rapidly scaling new EV models and our Ultifi software platform, which will drive faster innovation and enable new and exciting customer experiences,” Barra said. “Mike’s experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market’s most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM.”
We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is up to soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.
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