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1950—

Automotive executive

Welburn, Edward T., photograph.

Edward T. Welburn became chief designer of General Motors Corporation, the world's largest automaker, in 2003.

The appointment made him the first African American to rise to what is considered one of the most prestigious jobs in the automotive industry. Welburn's mission for the dozens of GM models he oversees is to lead their styling and concept teams into an exciting and visually distinctive brand identity for the twenty-first century.

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"I feel very fortunate," he said in an Automotive News interview not long after taking the job. "I am coming in at a time when the corporation has a real understanding of the value of design and its importance to the future of the company."

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Welburn was born in December of 1950 and grew up in the Philadelphia area.

His father was a co-owner of a body shop with his brothers and instilled in a very young Welburn an a