GM chief technology officer Stephens to retire on April 1

Tom Stephens, chief technology officer and a vice chairman for General Motors Co, will retire April 1, the company said.

Stephens, 63, has been vice chairman and global technology head since February 2011, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement today. Before assuming that role, he served as vice chairman of global production operations from April 2009 to February 2011.

The retiring technology chief has been with General Motors since 1969 and followed Bob Lutz as head of global product development until being replaced by Mary Barra in February 2011.

Stephens helped lead the development of the first Cadillac Northstar engine for GM and was instrumental in the company’s engine technology efforts, including hybrid vehicles and the Chevrolet Volt, the company said.

When he first came to General Motors, Stephens was an hourly employee at the Chevrolet Engineering Center in Warren, Michigan, under the University of Michigan Student Co-op Program.

He later held engineering posts at Cadillac and the Buick- Oldsmobile-Cadillac division before being tapped to head the GM Powertrain division, the company said.