GM defense unit gets new leaders, stays quiet on plans

DETROIT — General Motors' military-defense unit has a leadership team in place but remains in stealth mode a year and a half after being re-established by the automaker.

Leading the GM Defense team is President David Albritton, a former U.S. Navy officer and communications specialist for the automaker. He replaced Charlie Freese, who returned to his role as head of GM's global fuel cell business in December.

Freese had been leading GM Defense since its launch in October 2017, most recently with retired Maj. Gen. John Charlton, a 34-year U.S. Army veteran who left the company after six months.

GM declined to comment on the departure of Charlton, who could not be reached for comment. Albritton and Freese were unavailable for interviews.

Albritton, 53, most recently was executive director of GM's internal and product-development communications. Before GM, he worked in communications in the aerospace and defense industries and spent nearly 10 years as a Navy public affairs officer.

Since launching GM Defense, GM has been relatively quiet about the unit, but Albritton and his team are expected to be responsible for launching several hydrogen fuel cell-powered products for the aerospace and defense industries.

GM, which sold its previous defense unit to General Dynamics Corp. for $1.1 billion in 2003, has worked with the U.S. military on the development of two fuel cell-powered products since 2016: an Unmanned Undersea Vehicle and a midsize pickup based on its Chevrolet Colorado called the ZH2.

More recently, it has released concepts of a commercial-vehicle platform with autonomous capabilities and a military version of its Chevrolet Silverado HD as other potential future offerings. Both are powered by fuel cell systems.

Bill Grotz, a company spokesman, declined to comment on the plans for such products as GM Defense is "refining" its business strategy.

"We're not in a position to share details on our operations and plans going forward at this time," Grotz wrote in an email. "However, we'll have insight to share later this year and hopefully some nice business wins to discuss."

Albritton, who joined GM's communications department in 2015, described his new position to PR Week as "exciting and daunting at the same time, as it's the first time in 25 years" he hasn't been in communications.

"What we're doing is leveraging our experience in electric vehicles, fuel-cell vehicles, high-voltage batteries, electric drive systems, autonomous vehicles, off-road mobility, and heavy truck manufacturing and offering those capabilities to militaries around the world," he told the magazine.

Other GM Defense leadership appointments include:

• Nigel Sutton, 55, as vice president of business development on April 1. Sutton, a member of the Navy and U.S. Air Force for 23 years, had been vice president of international business for Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems.
• Jeff Ryder, 46, as vice president of growth and strategy on April 1. He most recently was vice president of Mobile Robotics at Oceaneering, an engineering services company, and has 25 years of experience across several industries, including aerospace and commercial technology.
• Angela Ambrose, 39, as vice president of government relations on May 1. She most recently led government relations activities for Accenture Federal Services since 2015 and previously worked for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and in the public sector.