Roderick D. Gillum

Mr. Roderick D. Gillum is a Partner at Jackson Lewis, LLP. He was a Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Diversity at General Motors Corporation from August 1997 to October 1, 2009. Mr. Gillum was responsible for global corporate social responsibility initiatives, which include community relations, philanthropy, business ethics, and diversity management within the corporation. Mr. Gillum joined General Motors in 1979 and has held several executive positions. He also served in two separate capacities at Saturn Corporation. From 1985 to 1986, Mr. Gillum served as a Manager of strategic planning, and from 1988 to 1993 as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary. From 1986 to 1988, Mr. Gillum was secretary to the General Motors Board of Directors, where he was responsible for the preparation and maintenance of Board and committee agendas and minutes and notices to the stock exchanges. Immediately prior to his election as a Vice President, his assignment was chief personnel and labor attorney. In that capacity, Mr. Gillum was responsible for all legal matters related to personnel, labor relations, benefit plans, and worker's compensation. This included the coordination of the successful defense to the largest employee benefit case in U.S. history (Sprague vs. GM). Prior to joining GM as an Attorney in 1979, he was an Attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in Detroit. His previous experience also included serving as an Administrative Assistant to the late state of Michigan Senator Arthur Cartwright. In addition, Mr. Gillum serves as the Chairman of Motor Enterprises Incorporated. He serves on the Boards of Holcim, Inc. and Detroit Economic Growth Corporation; Invest Detroit; and a Vice Chairman of New Detroit. He serves as a Member of Board of Trustees at W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Mr. Gillum serves on the Boards of National Urban League; Congressional Black Caucus Foundation; National Council of LaRaza; Hispanic Association Corporate Responsibility; Harvard University Kennedy School of Government Shorenstein Center; The Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.; and Michigan Colleges Foundation. He is also the Chairman of Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Mr. Gillum was elected by his peers and serves as a Fellow in the American Bar Association's College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He served as the Chairman of the General Motors Foundation until October 2009. Mr. Gillum is also a recipient of the National Bar Association's prestigious Equal Justice Award. He holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1975. After being awarded a Sloan Fellowship, Mr. Gillum received a master of science in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June 1985. He earned a B.A. degree from Michigan State University in 1972.