GM taps Lucid executive Claudia Gast for senior strategy role

Gast brings finance, M&A and EV startup experience to the table as the automaker strengthens leadership amid electrification and technology shifts.

On the Dash:

• GM hires a senior strategy and finance leader as it accelerates technology and partnership-driven growth.
• Claudia Gast brings experience from EV startups, defense contracting and public-company finance.
• The role combines corporate strategy with technology partnerships during a period of industry transformation.

General Motors is adding a senior executive with deep experience in strategy, finance and technology partnerships as the automaker continues to navigate rapid industry transformation.

Claudia Gast will join GM on March 1 as deputy chief financial officer and vice president of strategy, corporate development and technology partnerships. In the role, Gast will help shape GM’s long-term strategic direction while identifying and developing partnerships across technology, mobility and innovation-focused sectors.

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Gast will report to GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra on strategy matters and to Executive Vice President and CFO Paul Jacobson on corporate development and technology partnerships. Her responsibilities combine financial leadership with oversight of growth initiatives tied to emerging technologies and external collaborations.

The appointment comes as automakers increasingly recruit executives from electric vehicle startups and technology-driven companies to support shifts toward electrification, software-defined vehicles and automated driving systems. GM’s move reflects a broader industry trend of blending traditional automotive expertise with experience from newer mobility and technology sectors.

Gast joins GM from Lucid Motors, where she most recently served as senior vice president of strategy and business development. In that role, she led enterprise strategy, strategic partnerships and business development, with expanded oversight across artificial intelligence and machine learning, information technology, financial services, investor relations, capital markets support and select operating functions. She also oversaw Lucid’s investor relations operations from late 2023 through early 2025.

Prior to Lucid, Gast was head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at AM General, where she built the company’s strategy function and led diversification efforts, partnerships and acquisition activity. Her background also includes serving as chief financial officer and board director of Global Technology Acquisition Corp., where she led the company through its initial public offering and public-company governance.

Earlier in her career, Gast was a partner at Greentrail Capital, a growth-stage investment firm focused on late-stage, pre-IPO technology companies. She has also served as an independent board member and audit committee member at ESS Tech Inc.

In her expanded role at GM, Gast will succeed Zach Kirkman, a former Tesla executive who joined the automaker in 2023 and is departing for other opportunities. Her appointment underscores GM’s focus on strengthening strategic planning, financial discipline and technology-driven partnerships as the company advances its long-term growth and innovation priorities.