James Michael Roche, 97, a former chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors who had a 44-year career in the auto industry, died Sunday at his home in Belleair, Fla.
He led GM from 1967 to 1971, through the social turbulence that heavily affected Detroit. He was responsible for the nomination of the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan to the GM board - one of the first African-Americans to join a major corporate board.
