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In a controversial management shuffle, Johan de Nysschen moved to General Motors' Cadillac division to be the head honcho. Since his latest move to Cadillac from Infiniti, there's been a flurry of speculation, criticism of his strategy and, of course, serious doubts about his decision to relocate the company to New York City. In fact, he responded to a story written by Automotive News' Keith Crain titled "Cadillac is Making Big Mistakes."

Unlike other auto execs I've dealt with firsthand, we have to say de Nysschen is certainly not a coward.

Concerning the move to New York City, de Nysschen writes:

 
 

...It is about structurally entrenching a challenge to the status quo by reinforcing the psychological and physical separation in business philosophy between the mainstream brands and GM's luxury brand. In any event, the handful of jobs lost to the city is insignificant compared with the more than 1,600 jobs secured by the decision this month to produce our flagship CT6 in Detroit...


In addition to the move, a lot of flack has been given for his decision to change up the nomenclature at Cadillac. Considering the confusion that happened during his time at Infiniti, this is a point of concern. de Nysschen responds with the following:

...The obvious emotional appeal of historical subbrand names such as Eldorado, Fleetwood, etc. should be balanced against the fact that those names resonate more with baby boomers and are U.S.-centric. Cadillac must go global. Those romantic names have little relevance to a millennial premium shopper in China, for instance, where the reality is that alphanumeric nomenclature is a deeply entrenched industrywide practice...


Lastly, de Nysschen wanted to drive home one final point:

...Regardless of where its executives are located, Cadillac is and always will be from Detroit...

Now, we have to ask: is THIS letter to Automotive News gaining your respect or further cementing your ill thoughts on Cadillac's all-new leader, Johan de Nysschen?


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DEAR EDITOR: Johan de Nysschen Would Like To Have A Word With YOU

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