It has been confirmed by CEO Fritz Henderson that GM’s head of U.S. sales, Mark LaNeve, is resigning effective Oct. 15. Henderson said that LaNeve will be joining another company to pursue an interest outside the auto industry. It was back in 2005 that LaNeve was appointed vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing.

Last July, marketing duties were given to Vice Chairman Bob Lutz after the automaker emerged from bankruptcy, reports Automotive News. LaNeve’s departure comes immediately after it had been reported that GM’s U.S. sales dropped 36% during the first nine months of 2009 compared with the same period last year. For that same period, total industry sales fell 27%. The annual U.S. sales rate in September — 9.51 million vehicles — was close to the 27-year lows seen in the first half of the year. A replacement for LaNeve has not been appointed. But Henderson had said that the company will make some changes in its sales division as well.

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