Opel has announced that William F. Bertagni will take over as Vice President Vehicle Engineering, Europe effective April 1. He will replace Charles Klein who is appointed Executive Director Global CO2 Strategy & Energy Center at General Motors. Bertagni will also replace Charles Klein as a member of the board of Adam Opel AG.

William F. Bertagni has more than 30 years of experience in Product Development including leadership assignments in several regions. He is currently Vice President Product Engineering at General Motors South America. Prior to his current assignment, William was the Global Vehicle Chief Engineer for Small Cars based in Korea and as General Director of Engineering Center and Vehicle Chief Engineer at GM Brazil. He also gained European experience between 1991 and 1994 when he worked as an engineer in Rüsselsheim.

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“We would like to welcome William F. Bertagni. His deep technical background, global experience and leadership will be an asset to our team. His job is to continue driving our model offensive,” said Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. “I would also like to thank Charlie Klein for his contributions as we have successfully launched a range of vehicles and technologies during his tenure including OnStar and the award winning new Astra. Charlie also played a major role in the cooperation with our important joint venture partners PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Renault.”

The ITDC is the second largest development center operated by General Motors worldwide. Some 7,000 Engineers develop vehicles along with key technologies in safety, connectivity and efficient propulsion at the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim.

Bertagni will report to Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann and Ken Kelzer, Vice President, Global Vehicle Components and Subsystems.

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