AUBURN HILLS – Leading a turnaround for General Motors in South America wasn’t magic, according to Carlos Zarlenga.
“What it was, was hard work, listing the problems and not letting go until you fix them,” said Zarlenga, who left his job as president and CEO of GM South America in 2021. He joined Stellantis in 2022, leading operations in Mexico and this year landing an even bigger responsibility as head of North America for Stellantis, owner of Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge and Fiat.
Carlos Zarlenga
It’s a job that’s expected to test Zarlenga’s management skills as Stellantis rolls out an electric vehicle transition and deals with the aftereffects of a down year for sales in the key U.S. market, even as other automakers registered gains.
Zarlenga, who began his job as chief operating officer this month, spoke with the Free Press on Tuesday about his past roles and his new position. He replaces Mark Stewart, who left in January to lead Goodyear.
“Our turnaround in South America was fairly boring because we just did it the hard way,” Zarlenga said.
The effort involved listing and prioritizing problems and addressing them one by one. One of those problems involved the portfolio, which got a boost by bringing products to market that people really wanted to buy, he said.
Zarlenga is in his early days in his new job. He just recently relocated and will eventually bring his family to the area. They’ll choose a permanent home once a school is selected for his twin 13-year-old daughters.
He said he’s no stranger to metro Detroit, given his more than a decade in the auto industry, much of that with GM. He also had various executive roles with GE.
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