Robert A. Lutz
Appointed: 7 September 2023
President and chief executive officer of Lutz Communications. He retired May 1, 2010, as vice chairman of General Motors, following a 47-year career in the global automotive industry that included senior leadership positions at BMW, Ford, and Chrysler.
Lutz received his bachelor's degree in production management from the University of California-Berkeley in 1961, where he earned distinction as a Phi Beta Kappa. He received a master's degree in marketing, with highest honors, from the University of California-Berkeley in 1962. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Management from Kettering University on June 21, 2003, and an honorary Doctor of Law from Boston University in 1985. The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Foundation named him the recipient of its 2006 Manufacturing Leadership Award, which recognizes individuals who have made meaningful contributions to the development of the automotive industry.
Lutz published in 1998 the book, Guts: The Seven Laws of Business That Made Chrysler the World's Hottest Car Company. Guts was revised and updated in 2003 and retitled, Guts: 8 Laws of Business from One of the Most Innovative Business Leaders of our Time. Lutz also published Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business June 2011 and Icons and Idiots: Straight Talk on Leadership in June 2013.
Lutz served as a jet-attack aviator in the United States Marine Corps from 1954 to 1965 and attained the rank of captain. Lutz was born on February 12, 1932, in Zurich, Switzerland.