Official: Carl-Peter Forster Leaves GM Europe

As rumored towards the end of last week, Carl-Peter Forster, GM Europe CEO, will be leaving his position, following the demise of the Opel-Magna deal. The news was confirmed late Friday by GM, who also announced it will begin searching for a new CEO, outside of the company, for the European operation.

“The Opel brand has made tremendous progress under Carl-Peter’s tenure and leadership over the past several years,” Fritz Henderson, GM CEO said when announcing the departure. “We thank him for his significant accomplishments and wish him only the best in the future."

“In the meantime, we’re confident that the key personnel leading Opel will stay focused on running the business during this time of transition. We expect to finalize our proposals for establishing Opel/Vauxhall’s future next week and will be engaging all stakeholders to see how we can best work together in achieving our mutual goals. We will update on our progress as soon as is possible.”

“The past few years building the Opel brand has been a tremendous personal opportunity,” Forster added. “We’ve seen great strides in design, quality and technology and the launch of truly world-class products. It’s been an honor to be part of the history of Opel, and I wish all the people with the organization only the best in what I’m certain will be a great future."

GM tried to make it clear that Forster’s departure will not be followed by additional Opel personnel changes. For now at least, “all key management roles remain while the search for a CEO to lead Opel Europe commences.”