AM General has announced that Daniel Chien has joined the company as Senior Vice President, Engineering and Product Development.
Chien will be responsible for overseeing the company’s military engineering and product development operations, reporting directly to AM General Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, John Ulrich. He will be located at AM General’s Global Engineering Center in Livonia, Mich. With the addition of Chien, Rick Smith, who had held this responsibility temporarily while continuing his role as President of AM General Commercial Business, has returned full-time to focusing all his efforts on the growth and success of the company’s commercial business segment, reporting directly to AM General President and CEO, Charles M. Hall.
Chien has more than 32 years of significant engineering, product development and business experience. Prior to accepting his new role at AM General, Chien lead all design and development activities for sub-systems engineering across all vehicle platforms for General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Mich.
“Given the depth and breadth of Dan’s background in engineering, his years of leadership, and his proven commitment to quality, he is the ideal choice to lead the AM General engineering and product development team,” said AM General EVP and COO, John Ulrich. “His experience leading diverse technical teams, managing large and small technical projects, creating and fostering innovative solutions in a team environment and listening intently to customer’s needs further strengthens AM General’s commitment of being the partner of choice for our customers around the world.”
Chien began his professional career with John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa in 1981. From 1987 to 2008, he worked for several vehicle component manufacturing companies where he held various engineering, business and sourcing roles with increasing levels of responsibility.
In 2008, Chien became part of the General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products group, where he served as Vice President for Global Engineering. During his career, Chien has worked on many medium and heavy tactical wheeled vehicles including the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), the Palletized Load System (PLS), Heavy Equipment Transport Systems (HETS) and mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) armored fighting vehicle programs that include Stryker, RG-31, Buffalo, Ocelot/Foxhound and Pandour.
Chien earned his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa, a Master’s of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Michigan State. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and holds four U.S. Patents. He is also a member of Association of United States Army and National Defense Industry Association.