About Ralph Szygenda

Ralph J. Szygenda was named GM group vice-president and chief information officer effective January 7, 2000. He is a member of GM's Automotive Strategy Board and is responsible for the Information Systems & Services organization. Accountable for the management of all information technology efforts within General Motors, he is directly responsible for developing and implementing GM's global digital business strategy. Szygenda is a member of the board of directors of Covisint, L.L.C., an automotive trading exchange company, and the Handleman Company. He joined GM in 1996 as vice president and chief information officer.

Before joining GM, he was vice president and chief information officer at Bell Atlantic Corporation, in Arlington, Virginia, a position he held since June 1993. His main initiatives involved reengineering Bell Atlantic's business processes and delivering information systems to meet the new electronic generation. Szygenda also served as a member of the board of directors of Sodalia Corporation, a joint software business venture of Bell Atlantic and Telecom Italia.

Prior to Bell Atlantic, Szygenda spent 21 years with Texas Instruments Incorporated. In 1989, he was appointed vice president, information systems and services, and chief information officer. In 1991, he also added the responsibility of vice president and general manager of Texas Instruments Enterprise Systems Business Unit, an external software systems integration business supplying information products and services to the Fortune 500.

Szygenda has been active with various businesses, civic and charitable organizations throughout his career. Presently, he is a member of The Research Board, InformationWeek magazine’s editorial board, and is chairman of the Advisory Board for the Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly UMR) School of Management and Information Systems. He is a member of the University of Texas Business School Information Systems Management Steering Committee and has lectured at their Business School.

He has been widely recognized for his business and technology leadership through awards that include Industry Week’s 2001 Technology Leader of the Year, InformationWeek’s 2002 Chief of the Year and CIO Magazine’s 20/20 Vision Award recognizing his contributions in driving the information age. In 2003, Szygenda was inducted into the Computer Hall of Fame.

Szygenda received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1970, earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas in 1975. He is also the recipient of an honorary professional degree and honorary doctorate degree in engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Szygenda was born on September 6, 1948, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.