GM Taps Purchasing Chief Socia to Head China Unit

Kevin Wale, president of General Motors Co.'s China business and chief operations office for India and southeast Asia, will step down on Oct. 31 after 37 years at the company.

He will be replaced on Oct. 1 by Bob Socia, who has been vice president of global purchasing and supply chain for more than three years.

Socia will report to Tim Lee, president of GM's International Operations, which include Asia. The company says it will name Socia's successor as purchasing chief later. Some of GM's suppliers say they are concerned by the delay.

The company, which has shuffled its management ranks repeatedly over the past few years, tells the Associated Press that Socia wasn't pushed out. A spokesperson says Wale, 57, is "ready to have his life back" after seven years of grueling hours in China. GM says he plans to retire to his native Australia, where he began his career at the company's Holden unit in 1975.

Wale has overseen growth in GM sales in China to more than 2.5 million vehicles last year from 560,000 units when he took the job in 2005. Socia will face new challenges as China's auto market growth slows and competitors slash prices, analysts say.

The new China chief has previous experience there as executive vice president of Shanghai GM, the company's flagship Chinese joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., in 2007-2009. Socia, who joined GM's Cadillac unit in 1975, also held a series of jobs in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa.