Mark Reuss, GMs head of North American operations, steps in to keynote The 2011 Washington Auto Show

Mark Reuss, GMs head of North American operations, steps in to keynote The 2011 Washington Auto Show

Mark Reuss, president of General Motors/North America, will be the automotive exhibitor keynote speaker at the 2011 Washington Auto Show. One of the architects of GMs dramatic turnaround, Reuss was handpicked by interim GM CEO, Ed Whitaker to lead the companys North American Operations in December 2009.

Mark Reuss is at the very center of GMs resurgence and his views on what the future holds for his company and the industry at large will be timely and impactful, said auto show chairman Charles Stringfellow, Brown Automotive.

Reuss, 48, previously ran GMs operations in Australia and returned to the U.S. as vice president in charge of engineering in 2008. He was one of several up and coming executives that then CEO Whitacre and key GM directors had identified as being capable of taking a major leadership position in the company. Reuss is stepping in for GM CEO Dan Ackerman who had originally committed to speak at the WAS before he became personally unavailable.

Mark Reuss is the son of Lloyd Reuss, a longtime, popular GM executive who retired from the company before its bankruptcy. He earned a mechanical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University and holds an MBA from Duke. He is also a licensed race car driver in the Grand American Road Racing series.

Reuss will address the media, members of Congress, regulators, and industry operatives at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 during Public Policy days at The 2011 Washington Auto Show.