GM makes senior management change to improve South America operations

General Motors is appointing a new president to its South America market to help the automaker grow sales there.

The automaker announced the move Tuesday. Santiago Chamorro, 51, will be president and managing director of GM South America effective immediately. He replaces Carlos Zarlenga, who has “elected to leave,” said George Svigos, GM spokesman.

Chamorro has recently served as GM vice president of its Global Connected Services in Michigan, but has held other senior leadership roles for GM in South America and its global headquarters in Detroit over the past 27 years he has been with the automaker.

Chamorro’s first task is to lead “the implementation” of planned investments in GM’s future operations in South America and ramp up production “as the industry emerges” from the global semiconductor chip shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic, GM said in a statement.

Chamorro said that GM is in a strong position to grow in South America by “combining our outstanding South America team and partners, with our winning portfolio and the factories resuming production, we have the right fundamentals.”