General Motors has dismissed global marketing chief Joel Ewanick two years after hiring him, Automotive News reported.
"He failed to meet the expectations the company has of an employee," spokesman Greg Martin said Sunday.
In a short statement, GM said Alan Batey, GM's vice president of U.S. sales and service, has been appointed interim global chief marketing officer. In May, Batey was promoted from vice president of Chevrolet sales and service to his current role.
A source with knowledge of the situation said that talks had been ongoing for days about the handling of Ewanick's departure.
GM hired Ewanick, 52, as U.S. marketing chief in May of 2010. By the end of that year, he was put in charge of global marketing, then a new position.
His departure spotlights the volatility within GM's executive ranks under Dan Akerson, who became GM's CEO a few months after Ewanick joined.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday GM told Ewanick that he was being removed for failing to properly vet the financial details of a European soccer-sponsorship deal that he struck recently, according to people familiar with the matter.
