FASHION brand executive Joanne Crevoiserat has been appointed to the board of General Motors, bringing the number of women on the car-maker’s board to six and bringing experience in diverse fields including manufacturing, information technology, defence, transportation, cybersecurity and pharmaceuticals.

Ms Crevoiserat (58) is CEO of Tapestry, a company that includes luxury fashion brands Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman.

She is a member of the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executives that weigh in on policy issues affecting the economy, along with GM CEO Mary Barra.

Her work at Tapestry includes overseeing its acceleration program designed to drive sales and profit growth by making the company more consumer-centric, digital, data-driven, leaner and more responsible.

Ms Barra said: “Joanne’s approach to driving growth, which focuses on integrating data-driven insights to elevate the consumer experience, will be invaluable to GM as we launch our all-electric portfolio, introduce additional software-based services, and scale businesses in new markets.

“As we accelerate our transformation, we have an incredible opportunity to drive loyalty for our iconic brands and attract new customers, which is exactly what Joanne has done at Tapestry.”

Tapestry has been listed as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek and the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes under Ms Crevoiserat’s leadership.

She has focused on company transformation in various leadership roles at Abercrombie & Fitch, Kohl’s Corp., Walmart Inc. and May Department Stores.

Ms Crevoiserat said: “This is an exciting time to join the GM board. The company is innovating across every part of the business to drive growth. I look forward to serving the Board and GM’s shareholders through this transformation.”

By Neil Dowling