Matthew (Matt) Tsien was appointed GM executive vice president and chief technology officer, effective April 1, 2020.  In addition to this role, Matt was named President, General Motors Ventures LLC, effective July 1, 2020.

Tsien led GM’s operations in China since January 1, 2014. During his time in China, GM achieved unprecedented growth of business and brought in the technologies that would enable the company’s long-term growth in China, especially in electrification and connectivity.

Tsien began his professional career at Delco Electronics in 1976 as an electrical engineer, where he designed and released embedded software for automotive applications and led advanced work in navigation and telematics.

Between 1995 and 2000, Tsien worked in China, Australia and Germany in various technical, program management and planning assignments. In China, he was chief technology officer and director of Business Planning. He supported GM’s negotiations with SAIC for its early joint ventures, crafted GM China’s initial five-year business plan, and helped forge cooperation between GM and the government, industry and academic communities.

In 2001, he moved to GM North America Product Development as executive director of Vehicle Systems. Tsien joined General Motors Global Engineering in 2005 as executive director of Global Technology Engineering.

Tsien became executive vice president of SAIC-GM-Wuling, GM China’s manufacturing joint venture with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group (the former Wuling Motors), in 2009. He was a member of the joint venture’s Executive Committee and managed the company’s Purchasing and Supply Chain Management organization in addition to Information Technology and its Technical Development Center.

From 2012 to 2013, Tsien served as vice president of Planning and Program Management for GM China and GM International, and Strategic Alliances for China. He was GM’s leading planning voice across the region and helped oversee the growth of its product lineup.

Tsien entered General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) at the age of 15 and received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.  He also has a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a master’s degree in management of technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In September 2017, Tsien received the Magnolia Gold Award from the Shanghai Municipal Government for his contributions to the economic and social development of Shanghai.