US automotive giant General Motors (GM) has hired Grant Dixton as chief legal and public policy officer, replacing Craig Glidden who is refocusing on a different role with the company.

Dixton joins from video games business Activision Blizzard, where he was also CLO. At GM, he will oversee the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate governance, privacy and public policy functions.

GM owns brands including Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick.

Mary Barra, GM’s chair and CEO, said: “Grant Dixton is a respected leader and legal expert who has a deep understanding of the transportation, manufacturing and technology sectors. We are excited to welcome him to GM in this important role and know that his experience in both legal and policy matters will be invaluable as the automotive industry continues to transform and evolve.”

Dixton spent three years at Activision, overseeing the legal team amid its mammoth $68.7bn sale to Microsoft. Prior to that he spent 15 years at Boeing in a variety of roles across its legal team, working his way up to general counsel. He initially joined as assistant GC for Boeing Corporate having previously spent three years in the White House as associate counsel to the president during George W. Bush’s administration.

Dixton had earlier worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis, having started his career as a law clerk in the US Courts of Appeals and then the Supreme Court.

He said: “GM is an iconic company I have always admired. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Mary, her leadership team, and the strong legal and policy teams in place at GM to help the company achieve its bold vision as it continues to provide vehicles that customers around the world love.”

Glidden, meantime, will now focus his attention on GM’s self-driving-car subsidiary Cruise, where he will continue serving as president and chief administrative officer overseeing legal, government affairs, finance, communications and human resources, a role he has held since last November. He will work closely with new Cruise CEO Marc Whitten, while also serving as executive vice president and strategic advisor at GM. Glidden originally joined GM in 2015.

Barra added: “Since Craig joined General Motors nearly a decade ago, I’ve relied on him to help guide our company through many pivotal moments. He’s a no-nonsense and inspirational leader with a deep understanding of the automotive business and legal and policy worlds, and I am grateful he’ll leverage this experience as he focuses on Cruise.”