GM's "Mr. Environment" Retires, Report Says
July 14, 2009
DETROIT - Larry Burns, General Motors vice president of R&D and strategic planning, plans
to retire from the auto company. His departure is the one of many upcoming retirements and involuntary departures as the new GM sheds a third of its top executives.
Burns informed GM CEO Fritz Henderson of his decision to retire a month ago, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.
Dubbed GM's "Mr. Environment" in a 2007 profile by The New York Times, Burns was the automaker's most visible spokesman on green issues, long before it was trendy and often when it was at odds with more traditional-minded executives.
Burns is considered a pioneer in the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cells for vehicles. His group oversaw the development of such vehicles as the GM Hy-wire with its by-wire operations and skateboard chassis containing fuel cells a hydrogen tanks; the also hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Sequel; and the recent Segway-based GM P.U.M.A., unveiled at this year's New York auto show.
Burns often talked about the need for the auto industry to be part of the environmental
solution, not the problem.
Burns, who has a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, spent his entire career on GM's R&D staff, beginning in 1969.
Known for his quirky sense of humor and bad jokes, Burns himself is a walking tribute to technology. He went completely deaf in 1994 and received a cochlear implant to restore some of his hearing.
Photos by GM
1 - Larry Burns oversees the opening of a Shell hydrogen-fueling station.
2 - Larry Burns introduces the P.U.M.A. at the 2009 New York auto show.
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