Former GM Chairman Roger Smith dies at 82

Roger B. Smith, former Chairman and CEO of General Motors Corp., died Thursday after a brief illness. He was 82.

Smith led GM in the 1980s, retiring on July 31, 1990.Smith directed GM during a time of new environmental and safety standards and increased competition from import auto brands.

During Smith’s tenure as chairman and CEO, GM introduced its first front-wheel-drive midsize cars, formed the NUMMI joint venture with Toyota to manufacture cars in California, created the Saturn brand, and acquired Electronic Data Systems and Hughes Aircraft Corp.

“Roger Smith led GM during a period of tremendous innovation in the industry," GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said in a statement today. “He was a leader who knew that we have to accept change, understand change, and learn to make it work for us. Roger was truly a pioneer in the fast-moving global industry that we now take for granted."

During Smith’s tenure at the top of GM, he also led the company through a downsizing that spurred filmmaker Michael Moore to produce the polemic documentary “Roger & Me," chronicling the negative economic impact of Smith’s changes on the city of Flint.

Smith was born in Columbus, Ohio, on July 12, 1925, and he received his formal education in Michigan.