June 2016

HOLDEN-HONED SKILLS CREATE NEW POSSIBILITIES / Page 16

MELBOURNE TO MOTOWN | HOME-GROWN TALENT TAKES THE WORLD STAGE PAGE 4

HOLDEN PEOPLE

EMISSIONS BOOST FOR PROVING GROUND

Page 10

SECURING FUTURE PARTS

Page 12

As you read this, I will be celebrating my first full twelve months

as Chairman and Managing Director of GM Holden. As I said

when I started, this is my dream job. Twelve months on, that

feeling is stronger than ever. I come to work every day knowing

we will absolutely become Australia’s best automotive company

– we’re already on our way.

I’ve committed to being upfront about our challenges, and there is no doubt that the first half of 2016 has been very tough. The need to accelerate the transformation of our business and our brand has never been greater. But we’ve also had some good wins, including launching world-class vehicles; we should never forget to celebrate this.

Spark has set a new benchmark in its class – it embodies the strength of GM’s product portfolio and what’s to come for Holden. As a team we took Spark as an opportunity to do things differently in terms of brand and communications, proving that good things happen when we work together to push boundaries, target new audiences and build new connections.

Our evolution isn’t just about our cars. Holden as a company, and a brand, is all about possibilities. Our inaugural Junior State of Origin, part of our sponsorship of the NRL State of Origin series, is a great example. Giving 24 kids from regional NSW and QLD a once-in-a-lifetime experience shows we’re committed to Australian communities and doing things differently.

Looking ahead, I’m excited and energised by what’s to come. Starting with the new Colorado and Trailblazer in September and the all-new, world-beating Astra later in the year, we have the chance now to show Australia what we’re made of and what Holden can achieve.

We want to be Australia’s best automotive company and we’ll do that by focusing on our key pillars of customer, brand, product and one team – innovating and reimagining each of these areas. A lot of these changes you’ll see, like a fresh approach to our brand which we will launch later this year. Some of these changes you’ll feel as we build momentum, get more wins on the board and regain that Holden ‘swagger’.

The time to transform is now. As we make strides towards a brave new Holden, I ask that each of you consider the powerful role you play in building the brand we love. Your passion and creativity, curiosity and intelligence will get us where we need to be.

The possibilities are endless, let’s go there.

Mark Bernhard

Chairman and Managing Director

LEADERSHIP MESSAGE

OUR COVERHe was a bicycle courier, a truck driver and a helicopter interior designer. Now Michael Simcoe takes on GM’s top global design job. Read about his quest for diversity and empowerment as the new Vice President of Global Design. Pages 4&5.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 20162

This was eight-year-old captain Charlotte Barker’s reality as she ran out onto the field for the inaugural Holden Junior State of Origin. Leading her team, the Dungog Warriors Under 9s, and representing the Blues at the Holden State of Origin Game 1 curtain raiser, Charlotte was beyond excited to play a starring role at the biggest event on the Australian sporting calendar. “On a scale of one to never ending, my love for footy is never ending! I just can’t believe this is happening,” she said.

Representing the Maroons, the Under 9s Clermont Bears were just as thrilled to be given the opportunity to put the pride of their state on the line in front of the nation. For eight-year-old captain Roman Revell-Blair, the experience was a dream come true.

“I love playing footy at Clermont with my friends, but I never thought I’d be playing in Sydney in front of a big crowd and get to meet some of Australia’s best players,” Roman said.

As well as playing in the Holden Junior State of Origin, Roman and Charlotte tossed the coin for the Blues vs Maroons game and together with their teammates, formed a guard of honour for the State of Origin players.

Executive Director Marketing, Geraldine Davys, said seeing the kids’ love for the game and their clubs gave her an immense sense of pride in the opportunities Holden is providing for kids and communities.

“Roman and Charlotte came to our

attention as budding rugby league stars via our Home Ground Advantage program which recently awarded $10,000 each to the Clermont Bears and Dungog Warriors,” Geraldine said.

“We should all be really proud that we’re bringing such unique opportunities to some of QLD and NSW’s most footy-mad kids,” she added.

To top it off, the kids also watched the first Holden State of Origin game from a designated Holden VIP ‘red zone’ and were put through their paces in a training session the day prior by Origin legends Matt Cooper and Mick Crocker.

When it comes to dreaming big, kids pretty much have it in the bag. But not even the wildest imagination would’ve conceived of playing league at ANZ Stadium, in front of an excited State of Origin crowd – including some of the sport’s greatest heroes – all before reaching double digits.

Adam Williams (left and top) and Derek Rogers launch new careers.

BIG POSSIBILITIES FOR OUR LITTLEST DREAMERS

3

Pic to come

Heading up Global Design for General Motors – arguably the strongest automotive design team in the world – was never something Michael Simcoe dreamed about. He didn’t imagine being the only Australian to ever take the helm, or one of only seven people in history to ever hold the position at all. In fact, he wanted to be an architect “But you need maths for that, so…” – luckily fate intervened.

DESTINED FOR THE WORLD STAGE

Michael SimcoeOutgoing GM global design chief, Ed Welburn and his successor, Michael Simcoe tour the GM Holden design facilities.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 20164

As Michael once again moves the family to the semi-familiar surrounds of GM’s Detroit home base to take up the prestigious role of Vice President Global Design, the trajectory of his career is a poignant lesson in the possibilities inherent in a global corporation.

“I started [at Holden] on the second of November, 1983 at 8.30 in the morning… I think I was a little bit late,” he begins. He’s a detail person – evident in his encyclopaedic knowledge of automotive design history as well as the daily minutiae of the last 33 years with GM.

Michael joined Holden to work on the VN Commodore, planning to stay two years before heading back to the UK where he’d worked as a bicycle courier, a truck driver and a helicopter interior designer.

“Never was there more snow in London than when I was riding that bike around,” remembers Michael. He went on to inform every Commodore from the VN onwards, create game-changing concepts such as the Commodore Coupe which became the modern Monaro, and travel the world establishing and directing design studios in Korea, Australia and the USA – a pretty sweet ride for someone who was told by his professors at university that automotive design wasn’t real design.

“I learned the trade from the sculptors, like Peter Churchill who ran clay modelling here at the time. I’ve been through a number of changes of guard and lived through the days when Holden went down, battling the size of our carline and then came back again, recovering with the VT.”

Michael’s career highlights have been covered extensively by the press, as have the legacies of his predecessors. There’s no doubt about the hefty expectations placed on this role not just by the industry and GM, but by all GM’s markets whose products are tracked from the North American homeroom.

“Our design is already global. Our customers are global – it always comes back to our customers. They get to see stuff that’s done everywhere and have a good appreciation of good stuff done in Europe, good stuff done in America, China, Australia, Korea. To them it doesn’t matter. A customer in India has just as much capability to see aspirational stuff happening somewhere else in the world, and therefore the right to say, why don’t I

see something as good in my market? And I think that’s what’s happening now. We can’t design at one level for an emerging market and another level for an established market, because the aspiration is the same for everyone.”

When pressed about his to-do list for his first six months in the role, Michael maintains his job is to consolidate, “enabling people to keep creating great style, empowering them to fix things rather than being told what to do. I just see myself as an enabler to what they bring to the table. If I can’t do that I’ll probably fail before I start.”

Diversity – gender balance, cultural influences, age and experience levels – are also a priority for the new VP of Global Design, and something he believes will help GM maintain relevance in its various markets.

“Getting more diversity into the studios is a goal of GM’s and something I’d really like to see happen too. We have a crop of amazing people around the world now. The whole point of being global is to be able to take people from anywhere and make them effective somewhere else. The way you see things as a non-American is important. Selecting me to head up design means GM isn’t scared to bring something different into the fold – it could’ve been anyone, any race or gender, I just happen to be Australian.”

While leaving his Churelier B20, DV4 Eltham streamliner and Ducati behind is eye-wateringly tough for Michael, the honour of the position and taking the reins from 44-year GM veteran Ed Welburn is certainly not lost on him.

“I didn’t ever think this would happen, I didn’t ever dream about it, so the fact that this has all happened so quickly weighs heavily on me. I’m in awe of the job, and now I’ve got it. I hadn’t thought too heavily about it until I started to read some of the recent media pieces about Ed, and the level of expectation that’s contained in those is kind of daunting. Reading about what a wonderful guy he is, how much he’s left and how much he changed the world, you think wow, ok, this really means something. It’s the biggest design operation in the world, pretty much. I’ve got the chance to leave a legacy on a bigger stage than ever before. It’s pretty awesome.”

5

OUR CARThe first Reserve Edition

Commodores have rolled off the line at Holden

Vehicle Operations; for those who have ordered one, anticipation is high.

Available to any Holden employee with the company since the 2013 manufacturing closure announcement, the specially designed VFII includes features not available to the public, at regular employee pricing. Dozens of Holden employees have invested in the car that celebrates all who designed, built and launched the iconic Australian nameplate.

Adam Marino, from Materials Flow at HVO, will be one of the first to receive his vehicle and can’t wait to get behind the wheel.

“I wanted to buy one because it’s a limited edition. It is an investment and that’s why I picked the manual because in time I think the manual cars will be obsolete,” Adam said.

“It’s different to every other car that’s out there. I bought a red one because red is an iconic Holden colour and red goes faster. The colour also goes well with the Brembo brakes. The red centre caps are my favourite part as well as the rims and the tyres,” he said.

“I’ve grown up with Commodores and always owned Commodores. You get your employee number on the compliance plates on this car. It’s a very special thing for us,” Adam said.

Car enthusiast and member of the Holden IT team, Bethany Smith, agrees.

“Being the final Australian-built Commodore means this car is going to be a piece of history and having it personalised with my employee number makes that little bit more special to me,” Bethany said.

“I’m really excited to get behind the wheel of my new Reserve Edition. I can’t wait to see the difference in power that the VFII is said to offer. It’s wonderful that I’m receiving messages along the way as the car progresses through the build process and it’s interesting to learn about its journey from body shell to car,” she said.

The Reserve Edition is available on select SV6 and SSV Redline models that feature 19” bespoke wheels, Reserve Edition badging, head-up display and a commemorative key case.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 20166

Abdur Rahman’s title belies the complexity and diversity of the work he does at Holden Engine Operations. As a member of the assembly operations team he diligently pursues the six goals, five principles and 28 elements of the GM global manufacturing system (GMS). Quality, continuous improvement, problem solving and safety all hang on strict adherence to the standardised instructions that underpin GMS.

“I am involved in assembling engine parts with precision and finishing off tasks in the designated cycle time which is important to maintain our daily production target,” Rahman said.

“ I am part of a team and everyone plays a vital role in a multi-tasking environment,” he said.

Rahman’s 18-year career at Holden began in Plant 10 where he worked on Computer Numeric Control fabrication and took on a number of different roles before transferring to the new High Feature V6 Engine Plant in 2003.

His professional duties have exposed him to other aspects of the business and he is a proud member of the Workplace of Choice Committee.

“I have been humbled and privileged to be a Workplace of Choice team member. It has given me an opportunity to meet and work with everyone from the company directors to my peers. We have done a lot of things and I acknowledge the leadership team who have done a tremendous job. Without their authorisation and support we could not have achieved all that we have,” Rahman said.

Rahman urges all employees to take advantage of the Job Search program recently piloted by the team. The program exposes participants to real-life interview situations and provides coaching in valuable interview techniques.

“This is really valuable and I strongly recommend people participate. It is so

beneficial to know the techniques for a successful interview,” he said.

Outside of work, Rahman is equally committed. He recently received special acknowledgment for his 25 years as a volunteer with MS Australia, work he began after arriving in Australia from his native Bangladesh. He served in the Australian Army and was part of a United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Timor. Despite these commitments Rahman still finds time for a regular run and his family.

“I enjoy caravanning around Australia and wish to see many more areas of our beautiful country. I also enjoy being with our two girls in their scouting, netball and musical ventures,” he said.

ABDUR RAHMAN TEAM MEMBER HFV6 ASSEMBLY OPERATIONS

WHO DOES THAT?

7

Raj Rajasingham and Peter Brack eagerly await new world-class emissions testing equipment.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 201610

A team of 17 engineers, mechanics and instrument technicians works with Manager, Peter Brack, on this highly specialised work that is critical to ensuring GM vehicles comply with stringent emissions targets.

“This facility has evolved over many years and it is a highly specialised space. As manager of the group I am very happy that this investment has ensured that people with extremely specialised skills are not dispersing. It is a high-tech, high-cost facility,” Peter said.

Precision is the hallmark of the work done in the emissions test facility. Equipment is calibrated to micro tolerances by skilled instrument technicians. Fuel used in testing is imported at a premium of $15 per litre and drivers who sit behind the screen that dictates the test cycle undergo about six months worth of training to achieve fine tolerances of plus or minus two kilometers at the wheel.

“Emissions standards are getting more and more stringent, harder to meet and that’s why we have to have the best

equipment available. Everything has to be right,” Peter said.

A new four-wheel drive dynamometer will be a feature of the upgraded test cell, along with specialised equipment with a heightened capacity to test particulates (small carbon particles that come from petrol and diesel engines).

“A lot of the work we will be doing is for the United States market. It will be mainly all-wheel drive and the new dynamometer will give us the capacity to do that, as well as two wheel and four-wheel drive testing. We are looking more and more at particulates so there is a lot of equipment to go in around those things,” Peter said.

Supervisor, Raj Rajasingham, has devoted the past 12 years of his 28-year Holden service to the emissions facility.

“This upgrade is very exciting and we are going to get to play with a whole lot of new equipment. This is a great place to work and the people here in the lab are terrific,” Raj said.

An $8.7 million program is now underway to elevate emissions testing facilities at the Holden Proving Ground to world-leading Euro 6 standard. Currently a shell, stripped of instrumentation and other critical test equipment, the new emissions test cell is being prepared to receive state-of-the-art equipment from Europe later in the year. Two other existing cells will also receive major equipment upgrades.

PROVING GROUND ANSWERS GLOBAL EMISSIONS CHALLENGE

11

101SUPPLY CONTINUITY TASK FORCE

More than 20,000 individual parts must be stocked

to ensure Holden drivers enjoy

timely servicing of and repairs to

their vehicles.

Forecasting how many of each part may be required to meet demand into the foreseeable future is a formidable task. Sourcing and storing those parts for up to 10 years adds to the complexity that is now occupying the minds of a team of specialists including Aftersales Strategy and Supply Chain Manager, Amanda Lee and Holden Service Parts Operations Lean Manager, Rebekah Fitzgerald.

“It is a massive undertaking. With the cessation of manufacturing in Australia by Holden, Ford and Toyota we need to come up with a strategy to maintain supply of our parts,” Amanda said.

“Nowhere else has been through this exercise so there are no global processes that we could leverage. We’ve reached out to global teams but we’ve even had to devise the business case for our storage space ourselves because there really wasn’t a similar model we could work off,” Rebekah said.

Last year the team, representative of a diverse cross-functional slice of the organisation, defined every part and its source, either from an external supplier or in-house.

“When you develop a plan for every part, you have to look at where each one is in its lifecycle, examine the complexity of the part and if it’s feasible to re-source it.

Pictured from left: Martin Merry, Eriko Yamazaki, Angelo Avzangelis, Amanda Lee, Raghu Dittakavi, Ray Walker, Vasanth Hegde, Paul Siegemund, Brett Page, Hugh Matthews, Jim Mandilas, Rebekah Fitzgerald, Tristan Fennell, Rocky D’Alessandri.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 201612

SUPPLY CONTINUITY TASK FORCE

“We have more than 22,000 domestically sourced parts that, at the start of this project, were drawn from 222 individual suppliers. There are now 40 impacted suppliers that the team is still working through. Plant closures affect suppliers and some don’t have a business case to remain operational, so we need to prioritise those parts,” Amanda said.

“Where a supplier is going to close and we can’t source the part elsewhere we have to do an ‘all time buy’ – in some cases involving 10 years worth of material, to ensure continuity of supply to our customers, both domestic and export. Then we have to store that stock,” she said.

How to package parts, where to locate stock and issues around shelf life are all matters consuming Rebekah and the HSPO team.

“We are looking at forecasting how long we will have to store stock and the best way of doing that to optimise our space and fit as much as possible within our four walls and, if we have to, source offsite storage – but we would still bring those parts in to the National Distribution Centre and transact them out of our own warehouse,” Rebekah said.

This project is without doubt one of the most ambitious and challenging each member of the team has faced in their time at Holden.

“It is one of the biggest things we’ve ever worked on and one with the biggest risk if we miscalculate. Now we are moving into execution mode, all of the work we have done around planning over the last 12 months will begin to pay off,” Rebekah said.

“There are huge ramifications in terms of cost and customer service. We have to be innovative and creative in order to save money but also maintain our level of service to the customer. That’s our key objective: to maintain continuity of supply of quality parts to our customers,” Amanda added.

13

Out on the road recently, Peter spotted a person standing by his car parked by the side of the road with its hazard lights on and bonnet up. Sensing trouble, he stopped to lend a hand. He discovered the driver was on a school run to pick his children up when his car broke down. Peter offered to drive the man to the school, lend him his own car and wait until the RACQ towing service arrived before ultimately organising a rental replacement car from a nearby dealership.

It was all in a day’s work for Peter who was surprised that his actions led to his nomination for an award followed by the top prize – a trip to Manchester which Peter described as “a truly memorable experience”.

“I suppose at the time I was extremely surprised by the award as my action of stopping just seemed to be the right thing to do at the time,” Peter said.

“I’ve done it before and from past experiences I know it goes a long way with customers, knowing that someone from the manufacturer is willing to stop and lend a hand even though we may not be able to physically fix the vehicle. It’s the action of ensuring the customer is safe and actions are underway to help them resolve the situation for transport.

“I’ve always had in the back of my mind a quote from a Holden Managing Director in relation to customer satisfaction, when I first started with Holden 26 years ago. That was Bill Hamel and his motto was ‘whatever it takes’,”Peter said.

There’s nothing complex about Peter Maclean’s approach to customer service.

“Whatever it takes” is the mantra that drives the Queensland Zone

Aftersales Manager and the attitude that netted

him a Complete Care Culture Award.

CHAMPION OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 201614

“Women in Action is a high-impact continuous learning program for women leaders at all levels. It recognises the importance of leadership training in recruiting, developing and retaining women at GM to achieve our goal of becoming a workplace of choice for women,” Annabelle said.

Annabelle and other pilot program participants were selected for the program due to their membership of GM’s Global Women’s Council Exchange, and regional diversity groups.

Annabelle saw an opportunity to adapt

and share the program content with her colleagues at Holden and in the spirit of maximum inclusion, Annabelle is facilitating monthly ‘lunch and learn’ forums at HQ191 for interested women and men. The first two sessions on ‘Understanding the Biases’ and ‘Building your Executive Presence’ generated interesting and thought-provoking discussion.

“For me, learning in groups is more impactful and we can all benefit from developing our leadership skills,” Annabelle said.

GM intends to roll out the Women in Action program globally in 2017.

Executive Assistant, Annabelle Hudson, is a woman of the world – literally. Annabelle is one of 300 GM women around the globe participating in a pilot leadership program, Women in Action. The year-long program provides women with fast, convenient access to material and topics that help to develop leadership skills and address the unique challenges faced by women in the workforce.

WOMEN IN ACTION

People is published by Holden Communications for employees and retirees of Holden.

Editorial Office Holden Communications

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Email holden.employeecommunications@gm.com

Service Honours Stilianos Mavroudis, HR Business Partner HRIT Phone (03) 9647 7816 Email HRIT.Holden@gm.com

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Editor Jaclyn Bond, Internal Communications Manager Email: jaclyn.bond@gm.com

Layout and Design Bandits and Co

Printing The Printing Hub

Photography Bandits and Co Simon Stanbury

GM Holden Retirees Club (Vic) President, Bill Hooper Email president@hrc.org.au

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LinkedIn GM Holden

40 Years

Knowles, Jeffrey Keith 15/06/76

McConnell, Robert Russell 22/06/76

Lee, Chee Liong Michael 30/06/76

Roberts, Peter 30/06/76

Leontaridis, Leo 24/05/76

Wigglesworth, Edward 3/06/76

Beer, Nicholas Thomas 8/04/76

Farrugia-Gay, Robert Michael 3/06/76

30 Years

Odgers, Ian Robert 14/04/86

Jeffries, Daniel John 7/04/86

Ainsworth, Andrew Clive 10/06/86

Parham, Neville Keith 14/05/86

25 Years

Nguyen, Ngoc Thu 26/04/91

20 Years

Kristitz, Robert James 22/04/96

Gower, John Michael 23/05/96

Le, Duy Thuan 24/06/96

Garcia, Erick Moises 24/06/96

Vanlangenberg, Edward 3/04/96

Yardley, Kevin Damian 20/05/96

Brooks, Paul Robert 25/06/96

Anderson, Ross George 28/05/96

McArthur, Andrew 28/05/96

Marano, Daniel Jason 25/06/96

Lynch, Martin Noel 30/04/96

Crosby, Kym 11/06/96

10 Years

Clark, Anthony Paul 10/04/06

Ceveri, Mark Francis 8/05/06

Corcoran, Stephen Robert 13/06/06

Dorren, Robin Alexander 19/06/06

Theuma, Stephen 24/04/06

Malalage, Deepani 24/05/06

Santhanakrishnan, Vijayagopal 16/06/06

Georgakopoulos, Maria 18/04/06

Christian, Shane David 26/04/06

SERVICE HONOURS APRIL TO JUNE 2016Annabelle Hudson champions women in the workplace.

15

Adam Williams, Derek Rogers, Daniel Pini, Philip Dawkins, Christopher Aistrope and Alex Blackburn answered the needs of Micro-X boss, Peter Rowland, in his quest for skilled personnel to launch a lightweight 80kg mobile X-ray alternative to conventional 500-600kg machines.

“The idea of sourcing talent from the car industry has proven to be an absolute breakthrough because it’s a mindset that nobody – at least to my knowledge – has ever thought of applying to medical devices,” Peter said.

“What I love about the car industry is the rigor and discipline because you cannot achieve the quality, cost and reliability that the car industry achieves without a lot of discipline and hard work. Bringing that thinking from Holden into our plant has been brilliant,” he added.

Adam Williams said there was no variable speed on the production line.

“When you press ‘go’ on a new model, every operation has to take 100 seconds. It can’t be 105 because that stops the line, so we put months and months of planning and checking and testing and training in to make sure it happens in the number of seconds budgeted every single time,” he told Peter.

Micro-X is hopeful its engagement with Holden will encourage other employees to seek new future opportunities in industries they may never have imagined they would work in.

“The management out at Elizabeth is very enlightened. Their people are trained with a breadth of skills, a culture and a way of working that is spectacular,” Peter said.

“It sends a message that the skills they have been taught at Holden are actually transferrable into industries they would not imagine; in fact, they are more than just transferrable, they are world-leading. No one has put that quality and sophistication of manufacturing management into medical devices before.

“Our manufacturing strategy is a final assembly strategy. It’s the car assembly concept. We’ll get fairly quickly to a dozen people or so,” Peter said.

Skills learned within the Holden manufacturing environment have netted six employees from Holden Vehicle Operations new jobs with Micro-X, a start-up medical imaging company in Adelaide.

HOLDEN-HONED SKILLS LAUNCH FRESH CAREER MOVES

Adam Williams (left and top) and Derek Rogers launch new careers.

HOLDEN PEOPLE JUNE 201616