DETROIT – General Motors today announced leadership changes to support the continued turnaround of the GM China business, further drive the resurgence of Cadillac, and grow exports around the globe.
GM senior vice president and president GM China, Steve Hill, will take on a newly created role, GM senior vice president Global Export and Retail Innovation, reporting to GM executive vice president and president GM Global Markets, Rory Harvey.
In the new role, effective December 1, Hill will have a mandate to accelerate exports by leveraging GM’s global manufacturing footprint, strong brands and local distribution channels.
“Steve brings deep knowledge of our operations around the world, and exceptional experience leading critical sales, marketing and aftersales functions, which will be key success factors in his new role,” said Harvey.
During Hill’s tenure in China, he has led a business turnaround, with GM China’s operations posting positive equity income for four consecutive quarters and being the only global OEM in China to increase market share in 2025.
Through his career with GM, Hill has held leadership roles across global marketing, sales and aftersales. Aside from his current role, Hill’s previous key roles have included vice president of U.S. Sales, Service and Marketing and global vice president of Customer Care and Aftersales.
John Roth, currently vice president of Global Cadillac, will succeed Hill as GM senior vice president and president GM China, reporting to Harvey.
“John comes to the role leading our China business with proven leadership experience in the United States and global markets. Throughout his career at GM, John has driven strong business results, developed deep relationships with our partners and provided strategic clarity to support high-performing teams. John is the right leader to continue to build a sustainable future for GM in China, working closely with our joint venture partners,” said Harvey.
Since June 2023, Roth has spearheaded Cadillac’s return to the standard of the world by becoming the fastest growing luxury brand and the number one selling luxury EV brand in the United States. During his tenure, Cadillac secured entry into Formula 1, advanced its broader global strategy, and developed the luxury-of-choice product portfolio.
Roth began his career with GM in 1991, serving in a number of field and headquarters sales and marketing capacities. In 2013, he was appointed vice president of GM Canada Marketing, Sales and Service. In 2018, he served as president and managing director of Africa and Middle East Operations, where he led strategic and sustainable growth across the region before being promoted to global vice president of Customer Care and Aftersales.
Effective January 1, GM Canada president and managing director Kristian Aquilina will succeed Roth as vice president of Global Cadillac, reporting to GM senior vice president and president North America, Duncan Aldred. John Roth will oversee both GM China and Global Cadillac until January 1. A replacement for Aquilina will be announced at a later date.
“Kristian’s leadership experience in global markets, including leading Cadillac for international markets, positions him well to continue the resurgence of Cadillac in the United States and around the world,” said Aldred.
Aquilina has led GM Canada since January 2024, driving growth and transformation by leveraging his global sales and leadership experience. Under his leadership, GM became the top-selling automaker in Canada for 2023 and 2024, took over the number one position for electric vehicle sales and committed investment to support next-generation production at Oshawa and St. Catharines manufacturing sites. At the same time, the Canadian Technical Center continued to play an important role in GM’s global engineering, software and innovation strategy.
He joined GM Canada in 2023 as vice president of vehicle sales, service, and marketing, following his role as the managing director of Cadillac International Operations and Cadillac Middle East. During this time, Cadillac’s strategy across numerous international markets and its operational activities in the Middle East achieved strong, profitable growth while laying the groundwork for the roll-out of the Cadillac EV portfolio in the region.
With 28 years at General Motors, he has held leadership roles across sales, service and marketing as well as business unit leadership including managing director for Holden, New Zealand and executive director of sales and marketing at GM Holden. He was appointed chairman and managing director GM Holden in 2019 and led the transition of the business to the newly formed General Motors Australia and New Zealand.
