Bangkok, Thailand–General Motors announced seasoned executive Hector Villarreal as President of GM Southeast Asia, effective immediately. Villarreal will be based in Bangkok, Thailand. Villarreal has been appointed to lead the important region of Southeast Asia following the retirement of Ian Nicholls after 27 years of distinguished service with GM.
Villarreal comes to GM Southeast Asia from his most recent position as Managing Director of GM Russia. In his new role, he will focus on growing the Chevrolet business and brand in Thailand and Southeast Asia, with a particular emphasis on Chevrolet’s truck and SUV strategy through the world-class Colorado and Trailblazer.
“Hector brings to Southeast Asia strong commercial acumen from his experiences leading GM businesses and functions in several international markets, including Mexico, Korea, Uzbekistan and Russia. Hector has with a deep understanding of our business and a proven track record in building strong stakeholder relationships to maximize performance with our teams, distributors and dealer partners,” said Andy Dunstan,President and Managing Director, GMIO Strategic Markets, Alliances & Distributors.
Villarreal began his career with GM in 1990, as a Manufacturing Project Engineer at the Ramos Arizpe Plant in Mexico. Since then, he has held various positions in Mexico as well as in the United States, including Industrial Engineering Manager and Vehicle Line Director. He also served as Planning and Program Management Director for GM de Mexico.
In 2012, Villarreal joined GM Korea as Vice President of Planning and Program Management, before becoming President and Managing Director of GM Operations Uzbekistan in 2015. In 2017, he was appointed Managing Director of GM Russia.
Villarreal is a mechanical engineering graduate of Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He has a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the same institution and is married with three children.
