General Motors Co has announced that Mike Abbott, former vice president of Engineering for Apple’s Cloud Services division, will join GM as executive vice president, Software, effective May 22. He will report to GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra.

In his new role, Abbott will lead a new integrated end-to-end software organisation focused on the development of vehicle and enterprise software technologies and solutions, and the delivery of digital services and features to retail and commercial customers. 

The newly created team will bring together three now distinct software functions within the company, including teams led by Scott Miller, vice president, Software Defined Vehicle and Operating System; Stacy Lynett, vice president, Information and Digital Technology; and Edward Kummer, chief digital officer, Digital Business.

Abbott brings extensive technology industry experience in cloud computing, storage, networking, security and more at scale.

“We have entered the next phase of our technology-driven transformation focused on rapidly scaling new EV models and our Ultifi software platform, which will drive faster innovation and enable new and exciting customer experiences,” said Barra. “Mike's experience as a founder and entrepreneur coupled with his proven track record creating and delivering some of the market's most compelling software-defined solutions for consumers and companies make him an excellent fit at GM.”

“I’m a product person at heart, so as the transformation of transportation quickly accelerates, I know that software is the catalyst for redefining experiences for consumers and enterprises like never before," said Abbott. 

Abbott also served as a Visiting Scholar at Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) focused on research in computer vision and other products that have benefits globally. Previously, he served as General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), focused on investments in sectors including mobile and cloud computing, as well as working with entrepreneurs to better leverage social media tools, build teams and increase their funding. Abbott has also led teams responsible for developing innovative, secure, and high-performance applications and services at Twitter, Palm and Microsoft.