Leadership

Wayne D. Brannon

Wayne has been an active leader in the global business community for decades.

He was Vice President of GM Overseas Development Corporation & Director of New Business Development for Africa and the Middle East during the early nineties, and later led Strategic Planning and Marketing Planning for GM do Brazil in Sao Paulo. Wayne was appointed to the Global Chevrolet Brand Board in 1998 and served in that forum for the balance of his time with General Motors, becoming the senior voice of the Chevrolet brand globally for many years. Wayne also served as Regional Director, Sales & Marketing for GM's South America, Africa & Middle East region and was a senior member of the Regional Executive Strategy Board. In 2006, Wayne was appointed President & Managing Director of Chevrolet Europe to re-launch the brand across 37 countries and turn-around a struggling business. During this time, Wayne also held the titles of Vice President GM Europe, VP of GM International Operations, CEO of Cadillac Europe, and in 2010/11, CEO of GM Europe. Wayne received the EuroBest Award for Best Brand CEO from Automotive News in 2008, and in 2011, his final year in Europe, both Chevrolet and Wayne received "Company Best" and "Man Best" honors from a jury of independent journalists across Europe.

​Today, Wayne is the Founder and CEO of Gr8 Road Partners based in Naples, Florida and also has a summer home in Southeastern Michigan. Gr8 Road is focused on business strategy optimization, problem solving, C-suite executive coaching and global business development. In this capacity, Wayne has worked with many OEM’s and suppliers to the auto industry, including his interim role as Chief Marketing Officer for VW of America during most of 2013. In addition, he advises and support multiple automotive marketing companies which provide various solutions for the automotive industry and vehicle retailers. This includes his current executive advisory role for a major US media company, and formerly as non-Exec Director in 2016/17 for a UK based company that has the world’s leading solution of personalized video for retailers. Wayne is also serving as Advisory Board Chairman for TrueChoice Solutions that is the global leader in real-time preference analytics, and is actively engaged in both their consumer focused marketing support products, as well as their innovative and timely Human Resources products. Wayne also continues to serve as Board Director and Executive Committee Member and business development coach for Akervall Technologies in Ann Arbor, MI, a world-class producer of sports & night-grinding mouth guards brought to market under the SISU and SOVA brands. Most recently, Wayne is helping to launch and scale a Corporate Healthcare Cost Optimization capability that has already saved millions of dollars for one large auto manufacturer.

When possible, Wayne donates his time by lecturing at local universities and as a mentor and advisor to individuals and start-up companies in North America, South America and Europe. Wayne earned an MBA from Michigan State University, and a BIA from GMI, now Kettering University.