General Motors has hired a deputy chief financial officer and a vice president who will be responsible for some of the automaker’s key departments, the company announced on its media site.
Former Lucid Motors leader Claudia Gast will join the Detroit automaker on March 1 as deputy chief financial officer and vice president of strategy, corporate development, and technology partnerships, GM said Feb. 9.
According to GM spokesman Jim Cain, Gast’s position is the first at this executive level to merge so many different functions under one leader. She will be based out of GM’s Mountain View offices in California.
Cain added that Gast joins the automaker amid the departure of Zach Kirkman, who previously served as president of GM Ventures. Kirkman joined the automaker in January 2023 as vice president of global corporate development and was appointed president for GM Ventures in February 2024.
Cain said that Kirkman, a former Tesla executive, was departing the automaker to pursue other opportunities. Gast will be taking on most of the functions previously under Kirkman in her expanded role.
For her wide-ranging position, Gast reports directly to two of GM’s top execs: CEO Mary Barra for strategy and to executive vice president and CFO Paul Jacobson for corporate development and technology partnerships.
According to Barra, Gast’s “extensive background leading strategy and finance, along with her executive leadership across automotive, defense and other sectors will help us build even stronger partnerships and expand opportunities for growth and innovation,” the CEO said in a statement.
GM is placing big bets on the technological component of its vehicles moving forward. The automaker plans to launch eyes-off capable vehicle in dealerships in 2028, debuting on the Cadillac Escalade IQ electric SUV.
At Lucid, the California EV startup that formed from a battery technology company, Gast served as senior vice president of strategy and business development. The position included expanded oversight across artificial intelligence and machine learning, information technology, financial services, investor relations, capital markets support and operating functions. Gast left Lucid after three years.
Gast also led Lucid’s investor relations from late 2023 to early 2025.
Outside of autos, Gast was head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at defense contractor AM General, among other positions. GM is the only U.S. automaker with a dedicated defense business that works with the state department, secret service, and NASA among others.
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM hires former Lucid Motors exec in expanded leadership role
Reporting by Jackie Charniga, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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