By Bob Sorokanich, senior editor, GM News
It’s award season in the car industry, and General Motors is showing up in a big way. As part of its 2025 World Congress, the influential industry publication Automotive News recognized four GM employees for their innovative work and daring leadership across many facets of the business. Here’s a rundown on the winners:
Theo Lavergne, plant executive director, Flint Assembly: 2025 Automotive News Rising Star
Lavergne oversees the facility in Flint, Michigan, where GM builds the heavy-duty Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickup trucks. Recently, the Flint Assembly plant was due for a major update to its electrical architecture, and Lavergne – who began his 20-plus years at GM as a college intern – accomplished this switch without stopping vehicle production. Lavergne stays laser-focused on production efficiency and quality: As Automotive News reports, under Lavergne, Flint puts out heavy-duty pickup trucks about 9% faster thanks to his efforts. “We have to be the best at building,” Lavergne told Automotive News. “For me, it’s doubled down on my belief in people, and being rooted in people and their abilities when we come together collectively and work for one common goal.”
Grace Kerber, content creator, GM Brand Social: 2025 Automotive News All-Star
If you’re on TikTok, it’s likely you recognize Kerber. In 2024, while working for Mohawk Chevrolet in upstate New York, Kerber launched a humorous, off-the-cuff TikTok series partly inspired by the TV sitcom “The Office.” Viewers loved it, and Kerber’s video “Mohawk Goes to Corporate” – featuring a cameo from GM CEO Mary Barra – proved to be a major moment of foreshadowing. This year, she joined General Motors as a full-time content creator on the GM Social team, developing content that highlights stories across Chevy, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands. She shares her 2025 All-Stars award with her former Mohawk coworker Ben Bushen, whose behind-the-smartphone work helped launch the series. “We had no expectations of this blowing up or going past the local community,” Kerber told Automotive News.
Adam Rodriguez, executive director, product and AV: 2025 Automotive News All-Star
Today, Adam’s team leads GM’s autonomous vehicle initiatives, overseeing everything from active safety and our hands-free driver assistance technology Super Cruise1 to the development of higher levels of autonomous driving. He took an unconventional path to get here. In a previous role at Google, as Automotive News reports, Rodriguez invented the USB-C connector, and before that, he worked at a nonprofit building solar-powered electric systems in Cambodia. But at heart, Rodriguez is a car guy. He studied mechanical engineering at Stanford, disassembling and reassembling a Corvette LS1 V-8 engine for one class. After a few years at Google’s Waymo self-driving vehicle division, Rodriguez joined GM in 2024. “This is where I want to be, actually building vehicles,” he told Automotive News. “I get to sit in meetings [and] talk about what’s happening on new cars [….] It’s a happy place to be.”
Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors: Automotive News Centennial Award
Automotive News is marking its 100th anniversary in 2025. To celebrate, the publication created the Centennial Award, “honoring extraordinary individuals and families whose vision, innovation and leadership have had a lasting impact on the automotive industry.” This week, General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra accepted a Centennial Award at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit. As Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle writes, the award recognizes Barra’s leadership and skillful navigation of a changing industry, and her execution of a long-term strategic vision for the company. “Whatever hardship or challenge in a very challenging business — arguably one of the most challenging in the world — we always were aligned around creating opportunities out of that, instead of playing defense,” GM President Mark Reuss told Automotive News. “And people don’t talk about that enough. That’s a defining characteristic of her.”
Bob Sorokanich is a former automotive journalist whose work has appeared in Road & Track, Car and Driver, Wired, Robb Report, and many other publications. He is senior editor at GM News. Reach him at news@gm.com
1Always pay attention while driving and when using Super Cruise. Do not use a hand-held device. Requires active Super Cruise plan or trial. Terms apply. Visit cadillacsupercruise.com, chevysupercruise.com, https://www.buick.com/explore/technology/super-cruise or https://www.gmc.com/connectivity-technology/super-cruise for compatible roads and full details.
It’s award season in the car industry, and General Motors is showing up in a big way. As part of its 2025 World Congress, the influential industry publication Automotive News recognized four GM employees for their innovative work and daring leadership across many facets of the business. Here’s a rundown on the winners:
Theo Lavergne, plant executive director, Flint Assembly: 2025 Automotive News Rising Star
Lavergne oversees the facility in Flint, Michigan, where GM builds the heavy-duty Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pickup trucks. Recently, the Flint Assembly plant was due for a major update to its electrical architecture, and Lavergne – who began his 20-plus years at GM as a college intern – accomplished this switch without stopping vehicle production. Lavergne stays laser-focused on production efficiency and quality: As Automotive News reports, under Lavergne, Flint puts out heavy-duty pickup trucks about 9% faster thanks to his efforts. “We have to be the best at building,” Lavergne told Automotive News. “For me, it’s doubled down on my belief in people, and being rooted in people and their abilities when we come together collectively and work for one common goal.”
Grace Kerber, content creator, GM Brand Social: 2025 Automotive News All-Star
If you’re on TikTok, it’s likely you recognize Kerber. In 2024, while working for Mohawk Chevrolet in upstate New York, Kerber launched a humorous, off-the-cuff TikTok series partly inspired by the TV sitcom “The Office.” Viewers loved it, and Kerber’s video “Mohawk Goes to Corporate” – featuring a cameo from GM CEO Mary Barra – proved to be a major moment of foreshadowing. This year, she joined General Motors as a full-time content creator on the GM Social team, developing content that highlights stories across Chevy, Cadillac, GMC and Buick brands. She shares her 2025 All-Stars award with her former Mohawk coworker Ben Bushen, whose behind-the-smartphone work helped launch the series. “We had no expectations of this blowing up or going past the local community,” Kerber told Automotive News.
Adam Rodriguez, executive director, product and AV: 2025 Automotive News All-Star
Today, Adam’s team leads GM’s autonomous vehicle initiatives, overseeing everything from active safety and our hands-free driver assistance technology Super Cruise1 to the development of higher levels of autonomous driving. He took an unconventional path to get here. In a previous role at Google, as Automotive News reports, Rodriguez invented the USB-C connector, and before that, he worked at a nonprofit building solar-powered electric systems in Cambodia. But at heart, Rodriguez is a car guy. He studied mechanical engineering at Stanford, disassembling and reassembling a Corvette LS1 V-8 engine for one class. After a few years at Google’s Waymo self-driving vehicle division, Rodriguez joined GM in 2024. “This is where I want to be, actually building vehicles,” he told Automotive News. “I get to sit in meetings [and] talk about what’s happening on new cars [….] It’s a happy place to be.”
Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors: Automotive News Centennial Award
Automotive News is marking its 100th anniversary in 2025. To celebrate, the publication created the Centennial Award, “honoring extraordinary individuals and families whose vision, innovation and leadership have had a lasting impact on the automotive industry.” This week, General Motors Chair and CEO Mary Barra accepted a Centennial Award at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit. As Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle writes, the award recognizes Barra’s leadership and skillful navigation of a changing industry, and her execution of a long-term strategic vision for the company. “Whatever hardship or challenge in a very challenging business — arguably one of the most challenging in the world — we always were aligned around creating opportunities out of that, instead of playing defense,” GM President Mark Reuss told Automotive News. “And people don’t talk about that enough. That’s a defining characteristic of her.”
Bob Sorokanich is a former automotive journalist whose work has appeared in Road & Track, Car and Driver, Wired, Robb Report, and many other publications. He is senior editor at GM News. Reach him at news@gm.com
1Always pay attention while driving and when using Super Cruise. Do not use a hand-held device. Requires active Super Cruise plan or trial. Terms apply. Visit cadillacsupercruise.com, chevysupercruise.com, https://www.buick.com/explore/technology/super-cruise or https://www.gmc.com/connectivity-technology/super-cruise for compatible roads and full details.