Culture

General Motors Helps Employees Pursue Their Passions

General Motors prides itself on providing limitless opportunities for career growth and learning, and its employees’ career journeys are prime examples. From the expected (software and manufacturing engineers) to the unexpected (nurses, venture capitalists and healthcare analysts). General Motors is a global team of diverse and talented people making contributions that extend far beyond job titles and often bringing their life’s passion to work.

Kai Daniels General Motors Ventures Investment Analyst Employee

When I want something, I go for it. It’s great that General Motors values those qualities in their employees.Kai Daniels

Meet Kai Daniels. She started her career in information technology and now works as an investment analyst with GM Ventures, helping the company identify investment opportunities in advanced technology startups.

Education: I graduated from Florida State University and received two degrees with honors, one in management information services and another in entrepreneurship.

Dream job at 18: Ambassador, international relations.

Dream job in 20 years: Investing in technologies that create positive sustainable change.

Career Journey: While finishing school at FSU, I interned at General Motors in the IT organization. Once I graduated, I joined full-time in IT as an end-user experience product manager working on technologies and connected services like OnStar. I learned of the GM Ventures group and was immediately interested because of my entrepreneurship background. I sent an email with my resume to the hiring manager telling him of my interest and later interviewed and joined the team! When I want something, I go for it. It’s great that General Motors values those qualities in their employees.

Typical day at work: There’s really no typical day! My role is to provide analysis on investments in the areas of automotive cleantech, infotainment, smart materials and other automotive-related technologies. Some days I’m meeting with different startup companies, some days I’m staring at spreadsheets and other days I’m being a connector and building the relationships necessary to drive value for General Motors.

How does General Motors help you pursue your passion?  I’m passionate about diversity and the opportunity I have in this role to diversify the venture capitalist space. Fewer than 1% of American venture capital-backed founders are black. That’s a problem I’m passionate about and one I feel empowered to help solve.

What keeps you here? My friends laugh and say I’m the only person who actually uses both degrees. What keeps me here is knowing that General Motors can support my desire to always evolve and learn something new. I’m driven by solving problems for the company and for myself.

How do you do things you’ve never done? I’m not afraid to fail hard and fail fast. Success is an iterative process.
 
When I’m not working, I’m … Spending time with my family and hanging out with our two rottie puppies!

Bob Tiderington General Motors Innovation Accelerator Employee

All of the experiences and roles I’ve had at GM have helped me develop in ways I would have never imagined.Bob Tiderington

Bob Tiderington started his career at General Motors assisting customers and dealers and now works in the Innovation Accelerator Group within the Global Innovation team. His mantra? It’s best to leave an experience and transition to another while you’re still having fun. Maybe that’s why he’s had 10 different jobs within GM over the span of 23 years.

Education: I received a sociology degree from the University of Michigan and my MBA from the University of Detroit Mercy.

Career Journey: It’s been a long but exciting journey with General Motors. Since joining in 1996, I’ve had 10 different jobs. From beginning my career with Electronic Data Systems in the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Group, doing product planning and development, to leading the strategy for our Urban Active Solutions team, which eventually led us to launch our car-sharing startup, Maven. Today, I’m part of the Innovation Accelerator Group vetting innovative ideas focused on new mobility. All of the experiences and roles I’ve had at General Motors have helped me develop in ways I would have never imagined.

Dream job at 18: A job with the FBI.

Dream job in 20 years: Entrepreneur.

Favorite job: My current position — but I say that about every position I’ve ever had!

What keeps you here? Working with truly dynamic and inspiring people every day. Plus, being able to raise my kids in Michigan while having a career that takes me to a variety of places around the world like London and Shanghai.

How General Motors helps you pursue your passion: I’ve always been fascinated by how the automotive industry is evolving and that’s something I get to study, watch and now influence every day.

What’s something people would be surprised to hear about you? I’m a long-distance runner and I’ve run five full marathons.

Advice for new graduates: Get comfortable with change and walking through the fog of ambiguity as you learn about new things. Doing something all-new can be scary and tougher than you realize at the outset, but it’s likely much more rewarding than you will imagine as well.

When I’m not working, I’m… having fun with friends and family.

By providing rotational programs like TRACK, career re-entry programs like Take 2, offering flexible working hours and competitive time off and being the first automaker to offer gender-neutral paid parental leave, General Motors is paving the way and ensuring that its employees can grow in their career both personally and professionally while pursuing their passions, no matter what they are.

By combining all its employees’ talent, General Motors is creating a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.

If you’re looking for continuous growth and the opportunity to put your passions to work, search our available careers here.