General Motors is replacing the head of its Cadillac brand.
The automaker announced Tuesday that it is appointing Steve Carlisle as GM senior vice president and president of Cadillac, replacing Johan de Nysschen, "who is leaving the company effective immediately." Carlisle was previously president and managing director of GM Canada.
No details were immediately available about why the move was so abrupt. A news release said de Nysschen is leaving "to pursue other interests."
"We appreciate Johan's efforts over the last four years in setting a stronger foundation for Cadillac," GM President Dan Ammann said in a news release. "Looking forward, the world is changing rapidly, and, beginning with the launch of the new XT4 (compact SUV later this year), it is paramount that we capitalize immediately on the opportunities that arise from this rate of change. This move will further accelerate our efforts in that regard."
The company said Travis Hester, vice president of Global Product Programs, will succeed Carlisle as president and managing director of GM Canada.
Carlisle started at GM in 1982 as an industrial engineering co-op student at the Oshawa Truck Assembly Plant, according to the company.
Carlisle's previous leadership positions with GM include "vice president, Global Product Planning (2010-2014); vice president, U.S. Sales Operations (2010); and president and managing director, Southeast Asia Operations (2007-2010)," according to the company.
"The potential for Cadillac across the globe is incredible and I'm honored to be chosen to be a part of mapping that future," the news release quoted Carlisle as saying. "I look forward to building on our current momentum as we continue on our mission to position Cadillac at the pinnacle of luxury."
Carlisle will report to Ammann.
Cadillac is in the midst of a de Nysschen-engineered brand and pricing overhaul known as Project Pinnacle designed to help it compete in the luxury market globally. The $12 billion project, announced in 2016, was controversial with dealers at the time, prompting the company to offer buyouts.
Cadillac sales had been up in the U.S. this year more than 8 percent through March compared to the same period last year, but the brand's sales had struggled previously against some of its international rivals.
Cadillac's U.S. sales fell 8 percent in 2017. Among the brand's German luxury rivals, Audi was up 7.8 percent, BMW was down 2.4 percent and Mercedes-Benz was down 0.6 percent. But Toyota luxury brand Lexus fell 7.9 percent.
Cadillac, however, has surged in China, the world's largest automotive market, having posted a 51 percent sales increase in 2017. Last year marked the first year GM sold more Cadillacs to retail customers in China than in the U.S.
During a speech this year at the Automotive News World Congress, de Nysschen said the brand's performance in China is crucial for its success.
"Profits generated in China are funding our development in the U.S.," de Nysschen said, according to a Free Press report at the time.
GM hired former Infiniti brand chief de Nysschen in 2014 in a bid to give Cadillac a boost. Soon thereafter, de Nysschen took the unusual step of moving Cadillac's headquarters from GM's base in Detroit to New York in hopes of absorbing an upscale mentality. He also renamed Cadillac models with a mix of letters and numbers, allowing only the Escalade SUV to retain an actual word as its nameplate.
