pretty good article i found..pretty damn long though
It's a startling trophy hire, and further evidence for auto executives at Toyota (TM ), Ford Motor (F ), Hyundai (HYUD ), and elsewhere that their Chinese competitors are deadly serious about moving up in the global auto industry. On June 18, SAIC Motor announced it had hired former GM executive Philip Murtaugh to run its overseas operations from its Shanghai headquarters.
SAIC, whose parent company SAIC Group maintains big joint ventures with both Volkswagen (VLKAY ) and General Motors (GM ), recently unveiled plans to build its own locally branded vehicles. And bagging a car industry pro like Murtaugh is a real coup¡ªand a clear indication SAIC no longer wants to play just a back-up, manufacturing role in China to foreign auto makers.
"They need to have the capability to dictate their own future, rather than just rely on joint ventures," says Murtaugh, a 32-year veteran of GM who headed its China operations for nine years before leaving last year. He will now serve as executive vice-president for international operations at SAIC Motor. "My role is to help them become a globally competitive company," he says of his new position.
WHO'S WHO As China's own auto makers shift into high gear in their pursuit of the mainland and overseas markets, the talent search for foreign auto executives or mainland ones with deep overseas experience has intensified. Wuhu-based Chery, which has linked up with Malcom Bricklin's Visionary Vehicles and has plans to export to the U.S. and Europe, has hired scores of overseas Chinese managers with international experience, including a longtime Ford executive heading its research and development and a DaimlerChrysler (DCX ) executive recruited to honcho its international operations.
"They have hired more than 200 people with international experience" says one longtime China auto industry insider, commenting on salaries in U.S. dollars. "They don't blink at six figures." Chery declined to talk to BusinessWeek for this story.
Shenyang-based Brilliance Automotive, BMW's partner in Northeast China, has hired a former DaimlerChrysler executive to head its R&D center and focus on building its own indigenous car models. Meanwhile, Hangzhou-based Geely, which was the first Chinese auto company to display at the Detroit Auto Show when it showed a concept car there in January, has hired a former Daewoo executive to run its R&D.
EXECUTIVE POACHING The auto show coincided with traditional Chinese New Year, so the company held a bash to celebrate the Year of the Dog. It attracted the interest of several hundred Detroit-based Chinese who are working for the likes of GM and Ford.
"Of course, many of them were interested in working for us but it was just a get-together, not recruitment," says Daniel Dai, chief investment officer of Geely Automobile Holdings. He adds that General Motors complained to Geely that it was trying to poach their executives. "The U.S. car industry isn't doing so well. If GM later lays them off, why shouldn't Geely employ them?" asks Dai. "These people have families to support. Maybe in the future we will consider hiring them."
It's clear what's driving the mad rush to secure internationally experienced managers and engineers. With the strong encouragement of Beijing, Chinese auto companies are stepping on the gas pedal in their efforts to develop local brands to compete at home and overseas.
BRAND NEW BRAND Says Jack Perkowski, Chairman and CEO of Beijing-based auto components manufacturer Asimco. "Every single local company, whether or not they have a foreign partner, is now trying to develop local brands."
That's certainly SAIC's goal. In April, the company announced it will spend more than $1.7 billion over the next five years to create its own brand that will be launched sometime in the next couple of months. (The name of the brand has still not been announced although ¡®Shanghai'¡ªthe name of the brand which SAIC originally manufactured under¡ªis under discussion.) Plans call for developing more than 30 models based on five basic platforms.
And the company says it may export to Europe as early as next year. "First we want the quality and service level of our product to reach global standards, then we will try to sell into Europe and the U.S.," says Andy Chen, a spokesman for SAIC Motor Manufacturing.
Even before the Murtaugh hire, SAIC had already begun to lay the groundwork. In October, 2004, it purchased Korea's Ssangyong. And SAIC added more than 150 British engineers when it purchased the intellectual property of Britain's Rover last year. The new indigenous brand will be based on the Rover 75 for a saloon model, and Rover 25 for a small car.
WORLD CLASS Similarly, Wang Xiaoqiu, the general manager of SAIC Motor, is a 14-year veteran of SVW, the parent company's venture with Volkswagen. At the same time, SAIC Group's chief engineer and designer, who oversees research and development at the smaller company, worked in the U.S. for GM and parts maker Delphi.
"We are trying to build a team of more than 1,000 professional engineers. Eventually the number will reach 4,000 engineers and a world class R&D center is expected to be finished in 2015 [in Shanghai]," says SAIC Motor's Chen whose company now has 700 engineers. "SAIC is one of the top auto companies in China's domestic market, so for talent who want to work in Shanghai and work for the China auto industry, I think the SAIC Group is a good choice for them," he says, adding that they have also hired managers from Toyota and PSA Citroen (PEUGY ).

It's a startling trophy hire, and further evidence for auto executives at Toyota (TM ), Ford Motor (F ), Hyundai (HYUD ), and elsewhere that their Chinese competitors are deadly serious about moving up in the global auto industry. On June 18, SAIC Motor announced it had hired former GM executive Philip Murtaugh to run its overseas operations from its Shanghai headquarters.
SAIC, whose parent company SAIC Group maintains big joint ventures with both Volkswagen (VLKAY ) and General Motors (GM ), recently unveiled plans to build its own locally branded vehicles. And bagging a car industry pro like Murtaugh is a real coup¡ªand a clear indication SAIC no longer wants to play just a back-up, manufacturing role in China to foreign auto makers.
"They need to have the capability to dictate their own future, rather than just rely on joint ventures," says Murtaugh, a 32-year veteran of GM who headed its China operations for nine years before leaving last year. He will now serve as executive vice-president for international operations at SAIC Motor. "My role is to help them become a globally competitive company," he says of his new position.
WHO'S WHO As China's own auto makers shift into high gear in their pursuit of the mainland and overseas markets, the talent search for foreign auto executives or mainland ones with deep overseas experience has intensified. Wuhu-based Chery, which has linked up with Malcom Bricklin's Visionary Vehicles and has plans to export to the U.S. and Europe, has hired scores of overseas Chinese managers with international experience, including a longtime Ford executive heading its research and development and a DaimlerChrysler (DCX ) executive recruited to honcho its international operations.
"They have hired more than 200 people with international experience" says one longtime China auto industry insider, commenting on salaries in U.S. dollars. "They don't blink at six figures." Chery declined to talk to BusinessWeek for this story.
Shenyang-based Brilliance Automotive, BMW's partner in Northeast China, has hired a former DaimlerChrysler executive to head its R&D center and focus on building its own indigenous car models. Meanwhile, Hangzhou-based Geely, which was the first Chinese auto company to display at the Detroit Auto Show when it showed a concept car there in January, has hired a former Daewoo executive to run its R&D.
EXECUTIVE POACHING The auto show coincided with traditional Chinese New Year, so the company held a bash to celebrate the Year of the Dog. It attracted the interest of several hundred Detroit-based Chinese who are working for the likes of GM and Ford.
"Of course, many of them were interested in working for us but it was just a get-together, not recruitment," says Daniel Dai, chief investment officer of Geely Automobile Holdings. He adds that General Motors complained to Geely that it was trying to poach their executives. "The U.S. car industry isn't doing so well. If GM later lays them off, why shouldn't Geely employ them?" asks Dai. "These people have families to support. Maybe in the future we will consider hiring them."
It's clear what's driving the mad rush to secure internationally experienced managers and engineers. With the strong encouragement of Beijing, Chinese auto companies are stepping on the gas pedal in their efforts to develop local brands to compete at home and overseas.
BRAND NEW BRAND Says Jack Perkowski, Chairman and CEO of Beijing-based auto components manufacturer Asimco. "Every single local company, whether or not they have a foreign partner, is now trying to develop local brands."
That's certainly SAIC's goal. In April, the company announced it will spend more than $1.7 billion over the next five years to create its own brand that will be launched sometime in the next couple of months. (The name of the brand has still not been announced although ¡®Shanghai'¡ªthe name of the brand which SAIC originally manufactured under¡ªis under discussion.) Plans call for developing more than 30 models based on five basic platforms.
And the company says it may export to Europe as early as next year. "First we want the quality and service level of our product to reach global standards, then we will try to sell into Europe and the U.S.," says Andy Chen, a spokesman for SAIC Motor Manufacturing.
Even before the Murtaugh hire, SAIC had already begun to lay the groundwork. In October, 2004, it purchased Korea's Ssangyong. And SAIC added more than 150 British engineers when it purchased the intellectual property of Britain's Rover last year. The new indigenous brand will be based on the Rover 75 for a saloon model, and Rover 25 for a small car.
WORLD CLASS Similarly, Wang Xiaoqiu, the general manager of SAIC Motor, is a 14-year veteran of SVW, the parent company's venture with Volkswagen. At the same time, SAIC Group's chief engineer and designer, who oversees research and development at the smaller company, worked in the U.S. for GM and parts maker Delphi.
"We are trying to build a team of more than 1,000 professional engineers. Eventually the number will reach 4,000 engineers and a world class R&D center is expected to be finished in 2015 [in Shanghai]," says SAIC Motor's Chen whose company now has 700 engineers. "SAIC is one of the top auto companies in China's domestic market, so for talent who want to work in Shanghai and work for the China auto industry, I think the SAIC Group is a good choice for them," he says, adding that they have also hired managers from Toyota and PSA Citroen (PEUGY ).