E22: Training Role at GMIO (International Operation) in Zurich

Rick Brown Story

I came to Zurich to take on a role as Director of Training and Organizational Development, thinking this assignment would last, at most, three years, and I would move on. Around this time, GM embarked on three major initiatives, and here in Europe, similar changes followed. One was the establishment of a position called Vehicle Line Executive. Another one was the introduction of a concept, Brand Management. And lastly, Opel took steps to closely monitor vehicle development processes in a much more transparent way than ever before. At the same time, the whole industry saw a trend toward alliance formations, primarily for the reason of sharing resources and eliminate redundancies. Though I was in the training area, by virtue of being close to those leading these changes, I got swept up in this dynamic. The Zurich assignment became more than just a three-year stint as a trainig leader. In this episode, however, the content zeroes in on the training role and the scope of actions undertaken primarily in Europe to spread the Eisenach lean production principles.