General Motors Vice President Joel Ewanick leaves company

WXYZ - General Motors insiders confirm that GM and controversial marketing executive Joel Ewanick are parting ways.

Ewanick, Vice President and Chief Global Marketing Officer at GM,  is known for "thinking outside the box " and making brash moves, but lately some of GM's moves seemed erratic. GM abruptly announced that it stopped advertising on Facebook, but is now reconsidering.

GM announced it would not advertise during the Superbowl and instead was betting heavily on soccer advertising worldwide.

General Motors issued the following statement:

"General Motors said today that Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick has elected to resign effective immediately.

Ewanick, 52, joined GM in May 2010 in charge of marketing for the company's North America unit. He was named global chief marketing officer in December 2010.

Prior to joining GM, Ewanick was vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer for Nissan North America. Before joining Nissan, he served as vice president of marketing for Hyundai Motor America.

Alan Batey, vice president, U.S. Sales and Service, will assume the role of global chief marketing officer on an interim basis."