William E. Powel

Company: General Motors Corporation (GM)

Position: Vice President, Industry-Dealer Affairs, North America

Industry: Automotive

Country: United States

Bill Powell was appointed GM North America vice president for Industry-Dealer Affairs on May 1, 2004. He is responsible for developing and maintaining strong, positive dealer relationships throughout General Motors Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing (VSSM) and leadership of VSSM dealer network activities.

Prior to this position, Powell was the regional general manager for the GM VSSM Southeast Region in Atlanta from January 1999 until April 2004. He was responsible for retail and wholesale field sales, service, and parts for the ten-state Southeast Region.

Powell began his career with GM in 1977 with Buick, first as a salaried employee-in-training, then as a district manager in Los Angeles. He moved through several sales assignments at Buick and Motors Holding before becoming general manager of the Dealer Network Investment and Development Group in 1993.

A native of France, Powell received his bachelor's degree in education at Indiana University in 1969 and a master's degree from Pacific Lutheran University in 1975. He also participated in the Harvard Executive Development Program in 1987.