DETROIT -

General Motors appointed a new director of national accounts for fleet and commercial operations to replace Bill Gibson, who announced his retirement last month.

Assuming the role as of  Wednesday was Jeff Haag, who most recently was the fleet account executive in GM’s North Central Region, having been responsible for Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas.

The company said Haag will be reporting to Brian Small, general manager of fleet and commercial operations and NAIPC.

“Jeff brings a wealth of GM experience to this position, having spent time in the fleet, retail, and marketing organizations,” GM declared.

GM Recognizes Best Global Suppliers

In other company news, GM recently honored 82 of its best global automotive suppliers with its Supplier of the Year award during the 19th annual awards presentation held at the GM Renaissance Center. 

Of the 20,000 suppliers GM utilizes, a total of 63 winning suppliers have been recognized at least one additional time since the awards began in 1992. That contingent includes MRM, the digital and direct agency of the McCann Group.

The automaker hailed MRM for digital marketing and customer relationship management for the second consecutive year and is one of only two marketing solutions providers to have ever received this award.

Under the slogan “One Team, One Goal,” MRM with GM developed an innovative Web platform solution, including a content management system for all brands in all markets that GM operates. This platform, currently deployed across 30 plus markets in 33 languages, is replacing previously deployed technology. 

“Our work with GM actively engages more than 535 MRM employees in 26 markets where the average executive team has an average of 11 years experience working on the business,” noted Bill Kolb, president and chief operating officer of MRM.

“We are proud to expand our partnership with GM to reach across multiple platforms and services for various divisions,” Kolb continued.

Meanwhile, GM revealed this year’s Corporation of the Year winner was LG Chem, supplier of the battery cells that are packaged into the battery of the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle.

“We believe the Supplier of the Year Award is a top honor in the industry,” declared Bob Socia, GM vice president of global purchasing and supply chain.

“These suppliers are a critical part of our effort to design, build and sell the world’s best vehicles,” Socia added.

The OEM reiterated the award recognizes the significant contributions of GM’s suppliers in 2010 as part of the company’s global product and performance achievements.

The 2010 Supplier of the Year award winners represent the best the automotive industry has to offer in four key areas:

—Innovative technology.
—Superior quality.
—Outstanding launch support.
—Competitive total enterprise cost solutions.

The 2010 General Motors Supplier of the Year award winners are:

—A.P. Plasman
—Active Aero Group
—Acumuladores Moura S/A
—ADAC Automotive
—Allegis Group Services
—BASF Corp.
—Bend All Automotive
—Bose Corp.
—Brabant Alucast International B.V.
—Bridgestone Corp.
—Central Corp.
—ChemicoMays
—Cisco Systems
—CITIC Dicastal Wheel
—Clark-Cutler-McDermott Co.
—COAVIS
—Cosma International, a division of Magna International
—Dedicated Logistics
—DENSO International America
—Detroit Technologies
—DLH Industries
—DSV Air & Sea
—Dynamic Manufacturing
—Ehwa Diamond Industrial Co.
—ECM Vehicle Delivery Service
—EMS-CHEMIE AG
—E-WON Solutech
—FANUC Corp.
—FedEx Corp.
—Flexitech
—FUJITSU TEN
—GESTAMP AUTOMOCION S.L.
—Grimaldi Group
—Guangdong Hongtu Technology
—Henan THB Electric Co.
—HIROTEC America
—Höegh Autoliners
—HP
—I.S. TECH Co.
—INFAC Corp.
—Intecnial S.A.
—Iroquois Industries
—Johnson Controls – Power Solutions
—Jones Lang LaSalle Americas
—Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
—Kirchhoff Automotive
—KM&I Co.
—Korea Express
—Kwang Jin
—L&W Group
—Lakeside Plastics
—Lear Corp.
—LG Chem
—Mett Pty
—MITEC Automotive AG
—Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
—Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Climate Control
—Mold Masters Co.
—MRC Manufacturing
—MRM Worldwide
—Müller – Die lila Logistik AG
—NGK Insulators
—Nippon Seiki Co.
—Plast-O-Foam
—PST Eletronica S/A
—Pyeong Hwa Automotive Co.
—RCO Engineering
—Ryder System
—Shape Corp.
—SKF Sealing Solutions Korea Co.
—SL Corp.
—Starcom Worldwide
—Sungwood HiTech Co.
—Supreme Treves
—Takata
—Toledo Molding & Die
—UMW Dongshin Motech
—Union Pacific Railroad
—Valeo Powertrain – Transmissions Systems
—Wooshin Systems
—Yasunaga Corp.
—Yeong HWA Metal Co.