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Jose Tomas, former executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Anthem, Inc., one of America’s leading health benefits companies, is now heading General Motors (GM) Global HR team. His appointment came on a day GM announced the retirement of John Quattrone, GM’s senior vice president of Global Human Resources, effective Sept. 1, 2017, after more than 41 years service to the company.
In a statement issued by GM, Tomas, whose appointment took effect on July 1, will report to Mary Barra, GM’s Chairman and CEO, just like Quattrone, and will also serve as a member of GM’s senior leadership team.
“John has played a crucial role in the development of GM’s senior leadership team as well as serving as a trusted advisor and counselor on many important issues across the company,” the statement quoted Barra as saying . “In addition, he’s been a big part of the cultural transformation that has occurred at GM over the past several years, led by his passion for the company and its people. John leaves a legacy based on vision, dedication and a strong commitment to building relationships throughout his career.”
Quattrone, a native of Syracuse, New York, began his GM career in 1975 at the Fisher Body Syracuse plant. Over the past four decades, he’s held a variety of leadership positions in personnel, labour relations and human resources.
Quattrone has held GM’s top global HR position since April 2014. He previously was vice president of Human Resources for GM’s Global Product Development and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. In his previous role, Quattrone played a key role in reorganising GM’s Global Product Development organisation.
Jose Tomas is joining GM after building more than 20 years of strong human resources experience in leadership positions in the healthcare, food service and transportation and logistics industries with his most recent appointment is the executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Anthem, Inc.
Prior to his time at Anthem, Tomas served as the global chief people officer for the Burger King Corporation. In addition, Tomas was concurrently the president of Burger King’s Latin American and Caribbean operations, which consisted of more than 1,400 restaurants in 30 countries, generating more than $1.3 billion in sales.
During his tenure at Burger King, the company shifted between public and private ownership multiple times. Tomas played a crucial role in leading the cultural transformations during these moves.
As a member of Anthem’s executive leadership team, Tomas was responsible for human resources, corporate communications and security. Tomas led the implementation of culture shaping programs designed to enhance organisational performance and employee engagement, leveraging technology to drive predictive talent insights.
“Jose brings to GM a strong, well-rounded background with experience managing a complex global employee base in a challenging, results-oriented and diverse environment,” said Barra. “With his background and experience, he is well-positioned to serve as a strategic advisor as well as lead our global human resource team as we continue to work to develop our diverse and dedicated workforce and transform the company to lead in the future of mobility.”
Tomas received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Management degree and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from Florida International University. Tomas currently serves as a board member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He holds an SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) certification and is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Fellow.
