Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 - (Page 25)

PROFILE GENERAL MOTORS UNIVERSITY’S CHERI ALEXANDER Bringing Positive Energy to Employee Development BY BRIAN SUMMERFIELD Cheri Alexander has infused her approach to learning with high levels of enthusiasm, vigor and humor. With her personal dynamism, she is pushing General Motors University into overdrive. f laughter is the best medicine, then Cheri Alex- control my passion because I know we can’t be everyander, president of General Motors University, is thing to everybody instantaneously. It’s a challenge for a funny pharmacist. As someone who earnestly me because I’m very driven.” Her global focus has a lot to do with her profesencourages everyone on her team to laugh regularly, she may be the only learning executive who counts sional background. Alexander started out at General Motors nearly 33 years ago in a role that concentrated humor as a central element of operational strategy. on workers’ health, thereby bridging “If you asked my employees, they the safety and engineering departments would tell you that I’m always trying of the company. She then moved to to get them to laugh 14 times a day LEARNING labor relations, where she worked on so that they’re healthy,” said AlexanPHILOSOPHY negotiations with United Auto Workder, who explained that this laughter “When I talk about ers partners’ safety demands. quota strengthens people’s immune learning, I say there Her ﬁrst learning position was trainsystems. “I think that we have to laugh are six A’s: making ing director for the Pontiac Motors at ourselves because we’re not perfect. learning available, division of GM in the early 1980s. It takes the edge off the seriousness of approachable, She obviously made a mark, as she was things.” active, actionable, asked to be the head of General Motors Joking aside, Alexander is serious applicable and University (GMU) when it was created about making learning at the automoachievable.” in the late 1990s. However, she turned tive giant more effective and accessible. the job down, instead opting to be the She has an evangelist’s enthusiasm for vice president of HR for all of GM’s spreading employee development offerings as far as possible, a sentiment she sometimes has operations outside of North America. Eventually, Alexander did take over at GMU when to rein in. “In this economic environment, I have to control its ﬁrst president retired in April 2007. GM settled on my passion to spread learning throughout the world,” her in part because of her international experience. “The company truly had a desire and need to take Alexander said. “With fewer resources and less money at hand, I still want to meet all the needs of all the GM University to a more global place,” she explained. developing markets. Right now. Today. But I have to “General Motors is really growing in the emerging I Chief Learning Ofﬁcer • December 2008 • www.clomedia.com 25 http://www.clomedia.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Connections Business Impact Best Practices Effectiveness Guest Editorial The Future of Learning CLO Profile Learning Opportunities Embedded in Social Networking ManTech Leverages Knowledge Management Approaches for Social Networking Agility Training for the Learning Organization Creating an Agile Organization With Learning 2.0 2008 Learning In Practice Awards Corporate Social Responsibility: How Can Learning Contribute? Union Fenosa Corporate University: How CSR Education Impacted the Bottom Line Training in the 21st Century: Everything Old Is New Again Zions Bancorp.: Connecting the Dots Case Study Business Intelligence Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources In Conclusion

Chief Learning Officer - December 2008

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