General Motors promotes Baris Cetinok and Dave Richardson to head software unit

General Motors is promoting Baris Cetinok and Dave Richardson to head its Software and Services organisation as the company advances in electric, autonomous and connected vehicles.

Since joining GM in September 2023, Cetinok and Richardson have played significant roles in building vehicle operating and digital systems, enhancing quality testing and validation processes, and laying the foundation for software to become a central component of GM’s customer experience. 

“GM's journey toward a tech-forward future is clearer than ever, thanks to the exceptional talent within our team and the leadership of Baris and Dave,” said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. “They bring energy and vision, combined with extensive technical and management experience, that will continue to strengthen our software engineering and product teams. These elevated roles will ensure continuity, speed, and quality as software becomes even more central to the vehicle."

As senior vice president of Software and Services Product Management, Program Management, and Design, Cetinok will oversee the teams responsible for the company’s software roadmap design and the process for software program development, launch, and continual improvement.

As senior vice president of Software and Services Engineering, Richardson is expanding his current role to lead all of software engineering inclusive of areas like embedded platforms, digital products, commercial solutions, and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Both will work in close collaboration with GM’s vehicle design and hardware engineering organizations.

Cetinok brings more than 25 years of experience in product, engineering, and design at companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple. As senior director of Product Management at Apple, he launched Apple Pay, Apple Cash, Apple Card, and iCloud services such as Photos, Drive, and Find My. Cetinok also played a leadership role in the development of Microsoft Office and Amazon Payments in AWS.

Richardson spent 12 years at Apple where he was an engineering leader responsible for driving innovation and efficiency in infrastructure for Apple services including iCloud, FaceTime, and Siri. He was also co-founder and chief scientist at cloud computing company Skytap and was a founding advisor for online marketplace Dibspace. Richardson holds both a Ph.D. and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Washington.

The former technology executives take over for Mike Abbott, who left GM in March 2024 due to health reasons. They will be based out of the new GM Mountain View Technical Centre in California.