According to his personal profile on LinkedIn, Whitten was a founding engineer for Xbox at Microsoft, and left the company after more than 17 years. He became chief product officer of audio company Sonos in 2014, and later served as vice president of entertainment devices and services at Amazon. Most recently, he was chief product and technology officer of software development company Unity's Create.

Whitten's appointment comes at a critical time for Cruise, which is currently testing and relaunching its self-driving car service on public roads. Following an accident on October 2 in San Francisco, in which a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet by a Cruise autonomous taxi, the company suspended operations weeks after the accident occurred. Several key leaders, including Cruise CEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, left the company after the incident.

GM CEO and Chairman Mary Barra, who is also Chair of the Cruise Board of Directors, said, "Marc is a seasoned technology and business leader with extensive experience in scaling products and building ecosystems around them. Throughout his career, he has spurred innovation and driving growth in complex, fast-paced environments, and I believe this will be critical to Cruise's vision of creating real, tangible benefits for society with technology."

GM and Cruise have ordered a third-party investigation into the October incident, which found cultural problems, incompetence, and poor leadership contributed to regulatory oversight that led to the accident. The company also investigated allegations of a Cruise leadership cover-up, but investigators found no evidence to support the claims.

During this time, Cruise is trying to expand its business into GM's revenue business. Since its acquisition by GM in 2016, GM has been the company's major shareholder. Other investors now include Honda Motor, Microsoft, T.Rowe Price, and Walmart.

As of this month, in addition to testing conducted in Dubai, Cruise has also resumed its autonomous driving tests in Phoenix, Houston, and Dallas. The company has not restarted operations in San Francisco and is still undergoing an investigation related to the accident.

Cruise is a key part of GM's plan to double its revenue to $280 billion by the end of this decade.

In announcing Whitten's appointment, GM also announced other executive changes. The automaker said that Nick Mulholland, who is responsible for Rivian's public relations, will become Cruise's chief marketing and public relations officer.

GM said in another press release on Tuesday that Craig Glidden, who previously served as GM's Chief Legal and Policy Officer, will also join Cruise as its president and chief administrative officer, responsible for legal, government affairs, finance, communications, and human resources.

Grant Dixton, who previously held senior leadership positions at Activision Blizzard and Boeing, will succeed Glidden at GM.

Dixton said in a statement, "GM is an iconic company that I have long admired. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Mary, her leadership team, and GM's strong legal and policy team to help the company achieve its bold vision and continue to deliver cars that customers around the world love."

GM's Cruise autonomous driving car department announced on Tuesday that Marc Whitten, former executive of Amazon and Microsoft, will be its new CEO.

Dixton said in a statement: "General Motors is an iconic company that I have long admired. I am grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Mary, her leadership team, and General Motors' strong legal and policy team to help the company achieve its bold vision and continue to deliver cars that customers around the world love."