Ed Welburn‘s role at General Motors started with a letter. The 11-year-old wrote to the GM in the early 1960s with a basic question: How could he end up being a car designer? Fortunately, someone replied him back, and the rest is history.
Welburn’s 44-year of role at GM ends July 1. He revealed his retirement Thursday and will be prospered by Michael Simcoe, who leads the automaker’s international design operations.
Welburn is simply the sixth design chief in General Motors’ 108-year-history, following Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Irving Rybicki, Chuck Jordan, and Wayne Cherry. Welburn, 65, became vice president of GM North America design in 2003, that made him the first African American to head design for an automaker. The firm developed an international design vice president position in 2005, and again promoted Welburn. He now manages the 2,500 individuals worldwide who design GM cars.
