GM leader to be sorely missed

By Kim Tae-gyu

Last Friday, just ahead of the newsprint deadline, GM Korea issued a press release that its CEO Mike Arcamone is stepping down and that Vice President John Buttermore will replace him on an interim basis.

A question begs to be answered: Why is he quitting at a time when he is turning around GM’s acquisition from creditors of the now-defunct Daewoo Group and giving it new momentum?

When Arcamone took charge of GM Korea in late 2009, GM Daewoo, the Incheon-based automaker was not in great shape amid stiff competition with the business bellwethers of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors.

The two outfits combined for almost 70 percent of the market that year and Renault Samsung Motors was the established No. 3 player with a market share of almost 10 percent compared to less than 8 percent of GM Korea.

Under Arcamone’s stewardship, however, GM Korea increased its market share to 8.9 percent last year to nudge past Renault Samsung.

This year, Arcamone set an ambitious goal of a double-digit market share with his trademark confidence so as to generate serious threats to the perennial leaders Hyundai and Kia.

``We have a full product lineup and each one is a strong weapon to compete in the domestic market. Also, we have the best customer care program on the planet, Chevy Care,’’ Arcamone said in a New Year’s statement.

GM Korea officials concur that many positives have taken place since late 2009 and Arcamone is responsible for a majority of them.

``When he first took over the leadership, I wondered whether the guy with a relative small frame would be able to bring any changes to the company, which had suffered stagnation for a long time,’’ a GM Korea insider said.

``But it didn’t take long to recognize his specialty. With steady determination and elaborate strategies, he dealt with a flurry of difficult tasks and spearheaded sweeping changes at GM Korea.’’

Arcamone changed the company name to GM Korea in early 2011 and introduced the rebranded Chevrolet here under which a total of eight new vehicles were launched last year alone.

Some presented their concerns about the endeavor but Arcamone silenced critics once and for all with the soaring popularity of the new brand and fresh vehicles compared to its previous models.

He also initiated the Chevy Care after-sales services last year that the Korea Productivity Center praised as one of the best customer-oriented services of 2011.

``Arcamone has transformed GM Korea into a different company in just a couple of years not only in terms of its name, but also in terms of its organizational culture, exploits no other executives have achieved,’’ the insider said.

``Earlier this month before announcing his departure, he continued to push for another round of changes.’’

Accordingly, it was somewhat surprising to hear that Arcamone will leave GM Korea to join Bambardier Commercial Aircraft division in Canada.

The Montreal native, who joined GM in 1980, might want to stay with his family in Canada to the dismay of many GM Korea employees, who were hoping for another quantum leap on the back of his leadership.

Even as Arcamone leaves, his brilliant track record in Korea and his legacy at GM Korea will be remembered for a long time.