Smith, John F., Jr.
John F. “Jack” Smith, Jr. led the General Motors Corporation into the 21st Century first as its president and chief executive officer (beginning in 1992) and then as chairman of the board from January 1, 1996 until May 1, 2003 when he was succeeded in that position by Rick Wagoner.
Smith was born April 6, 1938, in Worcester, Mass. He received his bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1960, and a master of business administration degree from Boston University in 1965.
Smith joined General Motors in 1961 at the Fisher Body facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. He transferred to the Financial Staff in the New York office in 1966, and was named an assistant treasurer in September 1974. In February 1976, he was named an assistant comptroller on the Financial Staff in Detroit.
On August 1, 1980, he was named comptroller of General Motors Corporation. He became director of worldwide product planning in Detroit on February 1, 1982.
He was appointed president and general manager of General Motors of Canada Limited on January 9, 1984. At this time, he was elected a vice president of General Motors.
On February 1, 1986, Smith was named executive vice president of General Motors Europe-Passenger Cars, in charge of operations and engineering, and was appointed president of General Motors Europe on April 1, 1987.
From August 1, 1990 to April 6, 1992, Smith served as vice chairman of GM with responsibility for international operations. Prior to that, he had been executive vice president in charge of GM's international operations since June 1988.
Smith was elected to replace Lloyd Reuss as president and chief operating officer of GM on April 6, 1992 during a period of financial crisis for the corporation. On November 2 of that same year, he was elected chief executive officer and president of General Motors. He continued to serve in a dual capacity as president for nearly two years after being elected chairman of the board in 1996.
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