Burns, Lawrence D.
Larry Burns is vice president of General Motors Research & Development and Strategic Planning. In this post, he oversees GM's advanced technology, innovation programs, and corporate strategy. He is a member of GM’s Automotive Strategy Board and Automotive Product Board.
In addition to driving innovation into today's vehicles, Burns is championing GM's "reinvention" of the automobile around advanced propulsion, electronics, telematics, and materials technologies. The goal is to realize sustainable mobility with vehicles that are aspirational and affordable.
Burns began his career in 1969 as a member of the Research & Development staff, where his research focused on transportation, logistics, and production systems. He subsequently held executive positions in several GM divisions in the areas of product program management, quality, production control, industrial engineering, and product and business planning. In May 1998, he was named a vice president of General Motors, with responsibility for R&D and Planning.
Burns holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. He also has a master's degree in engineering/public policy from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University).
Burns is a member of the USCAR Operating Council and the FreedomCAR Partnership Executive Steering Committee. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Midwest Research Institute and serves on the board of the University of Michigan’s Automotive Research Center and the External Advisory Board for its Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Advisory Council for the University of California Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies, and the Advisory Board for the Tennenbaum Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology.
In 2000, Burns received Kettering University’s Engineering Alumni Achievement Award for his contributions to the engineering profession. In 2002, the Deafness Research Foundation recognized him with its National Campaign for Hearing Health Leadership Award. He served as National Honorary Chairman for the MATHCOUNTS Foundation during 2004 and 2005. In 2005, he was a member of a General Motors team awarded the Franz Edelman Award from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. Burns is also the recipient of the 2005 Alumni Merit Award from the University of Michigan Industrial and Operations Engineering Department. In 2007, he was awarded the ASM International Medal for the Advancement of Research and the Society of Plastics Engineers Global Engineering Leadership Award. In 2008, he received the Golden Gear Award from the Washington Automotive Press Association and the Industry Pioneer Award from the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute.
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