No one can say Johan de Nysschen has chosen the slow lane in his new job as head ofCadillac — between the reveal of a new flagship, a new naming system that begins withCT6 for said flagship and a decision to move Cadillac's 50-odd marketing and business staff to New York City. All of those changes have come with ample sides of doubt and criticism — especially around Detroit, where the idea of separating Cadillac from the city of its birth has not gone over well (and brought back memories of Ford's unsuccessful attempt to revitalize Lincoln in the 1990s by moving its business to California.)
Most car company executives would keep their responses muted if they said anything at all. Johan de Nysschen is not one of those executives; instead, he turned to Facebook to post a rebuttal that serves as a manifesto for his goals at Cadillac. This is the post in its entirety, unedited save for a few paragraph breaks for easier reading:
"Been quite a hectic few days. (GM CEO) Mary Barra and (President) Dan Amman have been very explicit in their instructions: restore Cadillac to the pinnacle of global premium brands, not in sales but in aspirational brand character. Ok, so let's get to work.
Obviously, doing what has always been done, won't yield a different result. This past week we announced a new flagship car to be built in Detroit. No reaction. Announced a product offensive which will give Cadillac coverage of 95% of premium market segment. Slight twitch of the left eyebrow of the industry media. Announce new nomenclature system, to denote hierarchy and accommodate expanded future portfolio. Every armchair marketing expert has ten opinions to share.
Fortunately, I do not determine strategy based on the unfiltered observations of people who do not have a 360 degree understanding of the problem. Announce that Cadillac is to be established as separate unit of General Motors, to be more autonomous and focus on the premium business. Emails from GM retires suggesting that is the dumbest idea since the Cimmaron. I quietly wonder if any of them had a hand in creating that masterful monument to product substance.
Announce that Cadillac will establish its global HQ in New York. The wrath of hell descends upon me, I'm accused of moving the entire company just because I prefer to live in New York. To all the indignant souls out there- this has nothing to do with Detroit. And certainly has nothing to do with where I choose to live. It has everything to do with creating an awesome car company. We must develop corporate processes, policies, mindsets, behaviors, attitudes, which are right sized for Cadillac and which are immersed in focusing on and responding to what it takes to win in the premium segment. No distractions. No side shows. No cross- brand corporate considerations. No homogenized lowest common denominator approach. Just pure, unadulterated, CLASS.
To create this change in approach, Cadillac must put distance between itself and the parent. Not because there is anything wrong at GM — the company is getting it's act together like you won't believe — but because Cadillac needs to FOCUS. And if we don't move, nothing will change. Physical relocation forces a change to processes. Now, it's true, we could achieve that, by moving just about anywhere . But if you have to choose a place to set up an iconic global luxury brand, you could indeed do worse than New York. So, Detroit fans, I love your city, the success of Cadillac will be your success, the majority of our jobs remain in Detroit, and as we grow, these will increase too. But other than that — don't mess with me."
Perhaps it's the sheer rarity of hearing a corporate executive speak plainly and forcefully without public relations filter that made many auto insiders cheer this on. De Nysschen is the first outside automotive executive to run Cadillac in some time, and if he comes off a bit harsh toward the traditional Detroit-GM culture, he's correct in pushing back against the insularity that has yet to make Cadillac a top-tier global luxury automotive brand again.
That said, Detroit also knows from blustery corporate managers who don't stick around long enough to answer for why their results never met their loud promises. De Nysschen was rightly hailed for his work at Audi and Infiniti, but his plans for Cadillac will take years of effort, especially if GM management suddenly decides it needs Cadillac volume more than exclusivity. We'll all be watching. LINK
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