• by Tanya Gazdik , July 27, 2020

General Motors has appointed Alan Wexler, former chief executive officer of Publicis Sapient, to the newly created position of  senior vice president, innovation and growth.

Effective Aug. 17, Wexler will be responsible for creating, executing and sustaining overall corporate strategies, including identifying future growth opportunities.

The newly created innovation and growth group will bring together several teams within the company, including global connected services, data and customer insights, and innovation and strategy teams.

While he was at Publicis Sapient, Wexler’s clients included Nissan and Audi.

Wexler joined Publicis Groupe in 1998 and was there until July 2019. He was a member of Publicis Groupe’s executive committee from February 2015 to July 2019.

Prior to taking the top job at Publicis Sapient in January 2018, he was CEO of SapientRazorfish and CEO of SapientNitro.

At GM, Wexler will report to GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra.

“Alan brings a proven track record and decades of experience leading a culture of innovation and customer-driven technology solutions,” Barra said in a release. “With Alan’s background, he is well positioned to help accelerate our transformation by challenging the status quo, disrupting the business and executing strategies that will lead to future growth.”