About the company

General Motors is a premier manufacturer of automobiles with brand names such as Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Saab, Opel, Vauxhall, Saturn and Pontiac among others. Its non-automotive interests include locomotives and heavy-duty transmissions, DirectTV ad a GMAC financing. The firm employs about 350,000 people and has revenues of $186 billion.

Profile

Mr. Wieneke brings a unique combination of abilities to his role at GM. Prior to 1997 he served in various professional engineering positions primarily centering on product development. In these capacities he was involved in both on and off-highway vehicles as well as rail equipment. This background provided a firm understanding of the product reliability and durability disciplines.

While receiving his M.S. in Engineering, Mr. Wieneke also pursued courses in organizational development. This equipped him with an understanding of the dynamics of groups. He took this combination of engineering and organizational knowledge and applied it to his work at GM. He has chartered and sponsored multiple product development and parametric design teams that have produced outstanding results on a continuing basis. He also was instrumental in creating a multi-disciplined vehicle simulation team that was able to meet its operational objectives and sustain the knowledge gained through a community of practice.

In recognition of his work in engineering organization, GM appointed him lead knowledge asset manager for GM on a worldwide basis. In this capacity Mr. Wieneke provides guidance to 30 Knowledge Asset Managers representing 34 Centers of Expertise. In addition, he has provided coaching services to over 600 experts who occupy positions on 170 registered expert teams. He is also responsible for establishing and maintaining GM’s Best Practice Knowledge-base as well as ongoing supervision of knowledge management tools, software, documentation and testing.

Mr. Wieneke holds a B.S. in Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Science. He has done additional postgraduate work at the University of Michigan in the area of Organizational Development. He is certified as a Master Knowledge Manager and is currently collaborating with The George Washington University and the Institute for Knowledge Management.