Meet the New Manager of Corvette’s Assembly Plant

Yesterday it was announced that Dave Tatman would be taking the helm of the Bowling Green Assembly Plant on August 1st following the reassignment of Bob Parcell, who will be taking over the Lordstown plant in anticipation of the launch of the 2011 Chevy Cruze. Tatman becomes the fourth manager of the Corvette Assembly Plant in just over three years and calls BGAP “the crown jewel of GM’s assembly plants”. We got the bio of Dave Tatman which can be read after the jump.

“You only get so many blessings in life, and this is one of them – to be assigned to the plant in Bowling Green. In my opinion, it is the crown jewel of GM’s assembly plants,” Dave said.

Dave Tatman was appointed plant manager of the General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant, the world’s only producer of the Chevrolet Corvette, in August 2010.

Born in Zanesville, Ohio, Tatman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Ohio State University in June, 1980 and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in December, 1985.

In June 1978, Tatman began working for GM as a college intern, and in 1980 Tatman was hired at Willow Run as a college graduate-in-training. He held a number of supervisory and management positions over a 12-year period before being transferred to Powertrain’s Advanced Development Center in Pontiac as superintendent in Product Engineering. In 1995, Dave moved to the Powertrain Plant in Bay City as a business team manager. From 1997 to 2000, Tatman held the position of manufacturing executive at GM of Canada St. Catharines. In January, 2000 Tatman returned to Pontiac, working at Powertrain Headquarters as the director of North American Manufacturing Quality Systems. In 2001, he moved to the Toledo Transmission Plant as production manager and in 2004 was named plant manager of the Livonia Engine plant. He recently completed a seven-month assignment at Powertrain Operations in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. Then, November 1, 2008, Tatman was named plant manager of the Willow Run Site, and on August 1, 2009, he added Warren Transmission and Parma to his responsibilities.

Dave has a deep belief that GM, its plants, and its employees need to be responsible corporate citizens in the communities in which they reside and do business. He has “paid forward” in all of his assignments by getting involved in his local communities through the United Way, local Chamber of Commerce, church activities, and museum and economic development boards. Dave and his wife, Barbie, have two grown sons, John and Phil. John, 23, lives and goes to school in Ann Arbor, MI, and Phil, 21, lives and goes to school in Bellingham, WA, in the great Pacific Northwest. Their daughter, Parke, is 17 and an enthusiastic Hunter Jumper equestrian, so the move to Kentucky is right up her alley! In his free time, Dave is a passionate outdoorsman, no matter what the season. He enjoys fly fishing, bird hunting, skiing, hiking and climbing.

Source:
General Motors

Related:
Breaking: GM Reassigns Parcell to Lordstown; Bob Tatman Announced as New Corvette Plant Manager
Bob Parcell to Replace Paul Graham at the Corvette Assembly Plant