GM’s New CTO Leaves After One Month

Gil Golan's departure follows publication of a profile by The Information.

General Motors’ chief technology officer, Gil Golan, is leaving the job after one month, according to an internal company memo distributed Wednesday, parts of which were seen by The Information. Golan’s departure, effective Nov. 1, comes one week after a profile in The Information in which he described a plan to aggressively expand the company’s work in batteries, including manufacturing batteries from the ground up. Anirvan Coomer, managing director for GM Ventures, its venture capital arm, will serve as interim CTO, according to the memo.

Golan, who was named CTO, vice president of research and development and president of GM Ventures on Sept. 1, previously led GM’s research center in Israel. There, he had a reputation as a charismatic, forceful and somewhat outspoken leader, unusual traits inside a traditional automaker.

Golan did not answer his cellphone or respond to an email or text. In a statement, a GM spokesman said, “Gil Golan has elected to pursue other opportunities outside of GM. We thank Gil for his many years of service and wish him well in his future endeavors.”