GM Canada appoints Marissa West as president and managing director

General Motors has appointed Marissa West to the position of president and managing director of GM Canada. West currently serves as the executive chief engineer of GM’s global mid-size truck and medium-duty truck division. In her role, West will report to Steve Carlisle, executive vice president and president of North America.

Current president and managing director of GM Canada, Scott Bell, is repatriating to the U.S. to lead the Chevrolet brand as vice president of global Chevrolet. He will continue to report to Carlisle.  The transition will begin immediately.

West brings with her extensive leadership experience to her new role. For the past three years, she led the design, engineering and development of several key programs within the GM truck family. Prior to that, she was director, of global noise and vibration and vehicle dynamics centre after holding various leadership roles throughout the global product development organization.

“It’s a great honour to take on the role of GM Canada president and managing director at such as pivotal time for both our company and our industry in Canada,” said West. “I am passionate about innovation, and I can’t wait to support our people and partners as we unleash our talent and ideas to drive the transformation of the automotive industry.”

Bell has been president and managing director of GM Canada since September 2019. During this time, he led the Canadian executive council and GM Canada’s board of directors. He also served as the chair of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association. Scott first joined GM Canada as vice president of sales, service and marketing in 2018.

During his tenure, Bell led significant investments in Canadian manufacturing operations including the reopening of Oshawa Assembly and converting CAMI Assembly to produce BrightDrop electric delivery vans.

“I want to thank all my fellow GM Canada employees, our great Canadian dealers and our many other partners across Canada for their support during my time as president,” said Bell. “I look forward to leading the global Chevrolet brand and working closely with our dealer network to prepare for our all-electric future.”