Tony Posawatz (born 1960) is an American

automotive engineer Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineer ...

, best known for his work on the

Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in th ...

, and in 2012 becoming chief executive of

Fisker Automotive Fisker Automotive was an American company known for producing the Fisker Karma, which was one of the world's first production luxury plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. It debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, and first ...

. He is a State of Michigan licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.).

Education

Posawatz graduated from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, attending as a General Motors Scholar & Engineering Intern. In 1986, he obtained an MBA from the

Tuck School of Business The Tuck School of Business (also known as Tuck, and formally known as the Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance) is the graduate business school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Founded ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, supported by a General Motors Graduate Fellowship.

Career

Posawatz joined General Motors in 1980. He rose through the ranks from assembly-plant foreman to the executive level as vehicle line director for several GM products, concluding as Vehicle Line Director for the Chevrolet Volt from 2006 to 2012. Prior to his work on electric vehicles he was Planning Director for the Full-size Truck, responsible for development of the

Cadillac Escalade The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV engineered and manufactured by General Motors. It was Cadillac's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to competition from the Mer ...

and

Chevrolet Avalanche The Chevrolet Avalanche is a four-door, five or six-passenger pickup truck sharing GM's long-wheelbase chassis used on the Chevrolet Suburban and Cadillac Escalade EXT. Breaking with a long-standing tradition, the Avalanche was unavailable as ...

. He retired from GM in July 2012. Posawatz was previously Chairman of the Board of the

Electric Drive Transportation Association The World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) is an organization that promotes electric vehicles. Member associations It is composed of : * The Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) * The Electric Vehicle Association of Asia Pacific ...

(EDTA). In August 2012, he was appointed chief executive of California-based Fisker Automotive, replacing ex-Chrysler

Tom LaSorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Nati ...

after only five months in post. Posawatz left Fisker in August 2013 and became CEO of an automotive and technology innovation consulting company Invictus iCar LLC.

Personal

Posawatz is married to an engineer and has two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Posawatz, Tony 1960 births Living people General Motors people American automotive engineers Tuck School of Business alumni Wayne State University alumni American chief executives in the automobile industry