DETROIT -

With current chief technology officer Tom Stephens set to retire on April 1, General Motors announced Wednesday who will be filling his shoes. Appointed to serve as the new vice president and CTO is Jon Lauckner, currently the president of GM Ventures.

Beginning April 1, Lauckner will take on his new post while also holding on to his current position as GM Ventures president. In the new role, his duties include the automaker’s research and development activities. Additionally, Lauckner takes on the R&D responsibilities held by vice president Alan Taub.

Taub is retiring and will pursue outside interests.

Another part of Lauckner’s new capacities will be his role on the company’s Global Product Development staff. He will continue to report to Stephen Girsky, GM vice chairman.

“Jon’s vast knowledge and experience in product development and engineering, combined with his ability to identify new and innovative external technology partners, make him a perfect fit for this critically important role,” said Girsky.

“With both GM Ventures and Research and Development aligned under him, we will be more nimble and can move faster to integrate the latest and most-advanced technologies into our vehicles for the benefit of customers,” he added.

Lauckner has been with the automaker since 1979 and became president of GM Ventures in July 2010. His first role with GM was as a test engineer, and he eventually moved through roles in a variety of fields with the company. These include product engineering, powertrain engineering and product development.

Sharing more about Taub’s career, officials noted that he became part of the company’s R&D team in 2001 when he was named executive director. Taub then took on the position as vice president of global R&D in 2009.

“Our company and the industry have benefitted greatly from Alan’s experience and leadership. His talent and contributions are appreciated by all those who worked with him,” Girsky noted.