Auto industry / Business & brands
Roger B. Smith
1925–2007 · chairman and CEO of General Motors
GM's chairman in the 1980s, remembered for the Poletown plant, Saturn, costly automation and Michael Moore's documentary Roger & Me.
- Born
Columbus, Ohio- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 82- Birth name
- Roger Bonham Smith
- Also known as
- Roger Smith
- Detroit years
- 1930s–2007
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Ohio, Smith grew up in the Detroit area, earned business degrees at the University of Michigan and joined GM in 1949 as an accountant, rising through its finance staff. He became chairman and CEO in 1981. That year the Michigan Supreme Court's Poletown decision let Detroit use eminent domain to clear a largely Polish neighborhood on the Hamtramck border for a new Cadillac plant, which opened in 1985 and became a symbol of the costs of keeping auto jobs in the city. Smith spent billions on robotics and automation, bought Electronic Data Systems and Hughes Aircraft, formed joint ventures with Toyota and others, and launched the Saturn brand. Yet GM's market share fell sharply, and his feud with EDS founder Ross Perot became public. Michael Moore's 1989 film Roger & Me, about plant closings in Flint, made him a symbol of corporate indifference. He retired in 1990 and died in Detroit in 2007.
Highlights
- Chairman and CEO of General Motors, 1981–1990
- Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly (Poletown) plant opened in 1985
- Bought EDS (1984) and Hughes Aircraft (1985); launched Saturn
- Subject of Michael Moore's documentary Roger & Me (1989)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Related place · 1981–1990
Factory ZERO (former Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, 'Poletown' plant)
The plant built under his leadership on the cleared Poletown neighborhood and the old Dodge Main site; now GM's electric-vehicle plant.
Worked here · 1949–1990
Cadillac Place (former General Motors Building)
GM's world headquarters throughout his career.