By nickjohnson - October 16th, 2013
Mr Ewanick was let go from the automaker in July 2012, after “failing to meet the expectations the company has of an employee”.
Some have linked his dismissal to the company’s reluctance to use social advertising platforms as part of their marketing mix - Facebook ads were reinstated soon after his departure.
Mr Ewanick certainly doesn’t think so, and blames the friction on broader economic issues - strangely, a return to profitability. In the run up the GM IPO, the culture was full of people attempting to try new things - but once money was being made
“that changed. It was like “Oh no. We don’t want to do things that way. We have a way of doing things at General Motors”
He also puts some of the blame on the labyrinthine corporate bureaucracy at the company
“ I think they’ll get there. I just think everybody’s realizing that it’ll take a lot longer to get there than they anticipate because it’s so big”
Both issues are sure to be recognised by many senior brand marketers - and with the turbulent 2014 forecast, they’re not going to go away.
Get more on Mr Ewanick’s views over at AdAge, and get a sense of what 2014 has in store in our newly released white paper.