Appointed to Chief Sustainability Officer in February 2021, Kristen Siemen helps to lead General Motors to a future with zero emissions as the company continues to take bold actions against climate change, including GM’s commitment to become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040. Under Siemen’s leadership, GM has received numerous recognitions including JUST Capital’s MOST JUST Companies, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices Gold Class for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, and Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies for demonstrating exceptional leadership and commitment to business integrity.  

Siemen began her career with GM in 1994 and served in a number of engineering and staff positions of increasing responsibilities. Since 2010, she has held senior leadership positions in several global engineering functions including Electrical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Test and Validation, and Energy, Certification and Compliance. 

In addition to her accomplished technical career, Siemen is also passionate about promoting inclusion and gender equality. She was instrumental in creating GM’s career reentry program, “Take 2,” as well as the GM Women Ally Program and serves as GM’s key executive for the Society of Women Engineers. Since transitioning into her role as CSO, Siemen has garnered several individual recognitions for exemplary leadership, including Crain’s Notable Leaders in Sustainability, Future 50 Tech, and Sustainability Magazine’s Top 100 Women in Sustainability. Siemen serves on multiple sustainability advisory boards including the United Nations Global Compact USA Board, the Engineering Society of Detroit Board and on the Oakland University School of Engineering & Computer Science Advisory Board, where she received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering.