GM Canada names Kristian Aquilina as its new president and MD

General Motors has appointed Kristian Aquilina, current GM Canada vice-president of vehicle sales, service and marketing as GM Canada president and managing director, effective immediately.

Aquilina will report to Marissa West, who was previously appointed senior vice-president and president of GM North America.

“It’s an exciting time to step into the role of president and managing director as GM Canada enters 2024 with incredible growth across the entire business,” said Aquilina. “I look forward to collaborating with our employees, our strong network of Canadian dealers and our many other community and industry partners across the country. Together, we’ll unleash even more opportunities for GM Canada to lead during this period of historic transformation.”

A company press statement notes that Aquilina leads GM Canada at a pivotal time of growth and opportunity, as the industry prepares for an all-electric future and the company continues to build on its recent investments in Canadian manufacturing, EV supply chain and software development work.

Aquilina joined GM Canada in 2023 as vice president of vehicle sales, service, and marketing, bringing his global experience and perspective to the Canadian dealer network and the entire GM Canada enterprise. Under his leadership, GM Canada led the industry in total market share and total sales for 2023 – the first time since 2009.

Prior to joining Canada, Aquilina was the managing director of Cadillac International Operations and Cadillac Middle East. He also served as chair and managing director for GM Holden in Australia and New Zealand.

Aquilina shared the following message:

“It’s an exciting time to step into the role of president and managing director as GM Canada enters 2024 with incredible momentum. Under the leadership of Marissa West, we’ve seen remarkable growth across all areas of the business and there are more opportunities ahead for GM Canada to lead during this historic period of transformation.  

As always, this begins with delivering products that our customers love, and GM Canada led the industry in total sales and total market share in 2023. It’s a true reflection of our strengthening portfolio across key segments like full-size pickups and full-size SUVs while attracting new customers with high-demand introductions like the Chevrolet Trax and Buick Encore GX. Continuing to win with our ICE portfolio is critical to maintaining customer relationships and growing loyalty, while fueling our EV transition and future growth.

Our Canadian manufacturing plants are also set to thrive with recent new investments in Oshawa Assembly, St. Catharines Propulsion Plant and CAMI Assembly. The Canadian Technical Centre continues to be a hotbed of innovation in software, R&D and advanced vehicle testing. We’ve also just begun to tap into the potential for Canada in the emerging raw mineral and EV battery supply chain, beginning with the new Ultium CAM processing facility in Bécancour, Quebec.

There’s no doubt the road ahead will continue to bring challenges, but as vice president of sales, service, and marketing, I’ve seen first-hand the agility and tenacity of the GM Canada team and our strong Canadian dealer network. To have the opportunity to continue this work with the entire GM Canada team is a dream come true.  

There’s so much opportunity ahead – and I look forward to all we will achieve together.”

Finally, thank you to Marissa for her visionary leadership which will continue in her new role leading GM North America.