Former Navy deputy chief nominated for GM board

General Motors Co.’s Board of Directors has nominated Vice Admiral Jan Tighe, a former U.S. Navy deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence, to stand for election to the body at the company’s annual shareholder meeting June 20, the company said Friday.

Jan Tighe

Tighe, 60, spent more than 34 years with the U.S. Navy and National Security Agency as a career cryptologist. She retired in 2018. Tighe also served as fleet commander for the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, U.S. 10th Fleet. She was the first woman to command a numbered fleet and first woman cryptologic warfare officer promoted to flag rank. She also served as the U.S. Cyber Command deputy director of operations and president of the Naval Postgraduate School.

“GM’s future will be driven by a software-first approach that enables a faster cycle of innovation, an elevated experience for our customers and a more efficient enterprise,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “Vice Admiral Tighe’s vast expertise in cybersecurity and information systems will be invaluable as GM scales EVs, AVs, and software-defined vehicles to deliver our vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.”

Tighe serves on the boards of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Huntsman Corporation and IronNet Inc., as well as The Progressive Corporation. She’s retiring from the Progressive board at the company’s 2023 annual meeting.

In October 2022, GM added entrepreneur and venture capital investor Jonathan McNeill, the co-founder and CEO of DVx Ventures, to its board of directors. In August, GM added Joanne Crevoiserat, the chief executive officer of Tapestry Inc., to its board of directors. New York-based Tapestry operates luxury accessories and lifestyle brands: Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman.

After GM board member Carol Stephenson retires this year, and if each nominee is elected at the annual shareholder meeting, GM’s board will have 13 directors with senior leadership and board experience in manufacturing, digital commerce, retail, higher education, investment management, international affairs, defense, transportation, and information technology and cybersecurity. Six of GM’s board nominees are women and 12 are independent.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join GM’s Board during this momentous time,” Tighe said in a statement. “GM’s transformation — enabled by EVs, AVs and software-defined vehicles — is historic, as is the pace at which the company is executing its future.”