Bausch & Lomb President Picked for GM Board and Executive Post

General Motors Corp. on Wednesday appointed an outsider to head its vast North American sales, service and marketing operations.

Ronald L. Zarrella, the 45-year-old president of Bausch & Lomb Corp., will become a GM vice president and group executive Dec. 12, and will join the board of directors of General Motors Acceptance Corp., the financing arm.

Zarrella will oversee the management of the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and GMC Truck divisions, which account for about $100 billion a year in sales. He’ll also be in charge of GM of Canada, GM Service Parts Operations and North American marketing and advertising staffs. He succeeds J. Michael Losh, who in July became an executive vice president and GM’s chief financial officer.

GM’s stock rose 62.5 cents to $39.625 a share in active trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday.