The chairman and managing director of GM’s Australia subsidiary, Holden, Peter Hanenberger, who is also a General Motors group vice president, will retire on January 1 after 45 years of service.
Denny Mooney, executive director of vehicle integration for GM North America Engineering, will succeed Hanenberger as Holden chairman and managing director. He will join Holden later this year and work with Hanenberger to ensure a smooth transition.
Hanenberger, 61, joined Holden in 1999 and oversaw its remarkable expansion and success in Australia and the other markets where Holden cars and trucks are sold.
However, although the official GM press release did not mention it, he was also well known locally for his work on Holden suspension and chassis development during an earlier spell in Australia as a member of the vehicle engineering team during the 1970s.
A series of ingenious modifications to the basic suspension architecture of Holden’s locally-developed model lines in 1977 produced “Radial Tuned Suspension” which transformed the handling and ride from US-like ‘marshmallow’ to something of the crispness and refinement of contemporary European models. Feted by the local motoring press for this achievement, Hanenberger was dubbed ‘Peter Handlingberger’.
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By GlobalDataBefore joining Holden for the second time in 1999, Hanenberger was a GM vice president and group executive of the Opel Technical Development Centre in Ruesselsheim, Germany. A native of Wiesbaden, Germany, he began his career at Adam Opel AG, GM’s German subsidiary, in 1958 in vehicle testing and development. He moved up the ranks to several key engineering posts.
Holden underwent an aggressive expansion of its product lineup and manufacturing capacity under Hanenberger’s tenure. He championed the expansion of the company’s research and product development capabilities, which included the recent announcement of the Holden Innovation Centre.
Hanenberger also played a key role in the growth of GM’s Asia-Pacific operations, including its assembly plant in Rayong, Thailand, and with Holden’s sales and marketing operations in New Zealand. He is a director of GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., serving as a consultant for the rapidly growing Korean automaker.
Mooney, 46, joined GM in 1978 as a college graduate in training with Oldsmobile, Mooney advanced to several engineering positions within GM North America. In 1993, he was named director of projects for future programs, and was promoted to vehicle chief engineer for compact cars in 1996. In the following years, he held several engineering director positions, and was named executive director of vehicle performance for GM North America before appointment to his current post in 2001.
At Holden, Mooney will report to Fritz Henderson, GM group vice president and president of GM Asia Pacific.