GM’s Cruise taps Xbox video game veteran as next CEO

GM’s Cruise has appointed Marc Whitten — a video game veteran who was a founding engineer at Xbox and Xbox Live — as CEO. 

The Cruise CEO position has been vacant since December when co-founder Kyle Vogt resigned as part of a broader executive shakeup following an October 2 incident that saw one of its robotaxis drag a felled pedestrian 20 feet.

Whitten, who will start July 16, has a long history developing tech products, particularly in the world of video games. He most recently worked at video game engine maker Unity, where he was CTO and headed up product. Whitten also worked at Amazon, where he was general manager and vice president across a range of entertainment devices and services, including Fire TV, Kindle and Amazon apps and entertainment services. Whitten was also chief product officer of Sonos.

“In a few years, transportation will be fundamentally safer and more accessible than it is today, creating much more value for individuals and communities around the world. It is an opportunity of a lifetime to be part of this transformation, “Whitten said in a statement, explaining his decision to join Cruise.

Cruise said Mo Elshenawy will continue to serve as president and chief technology officer.

The CEO appointment comes with a couple of other executive changes. Craig Glidden, who was put in charge as chief administrative officer at the company, will step back from his role at GM to put more focus on Cruise. He will now be president and chief administrative officer at Cruise and an executive VP and strategic adviser at GM.

Cruise has also hired Nick Mulholland, a former executive at Rivian, to head up its communications and marketing department.