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Roger Smith, the former CEO of General Motors (GM) died Thursday at the age of 82.

Smith served the company during a strong time of upheaval in the industry and world, as things increasingly moved toward a global economy. Smith was chairman and CEO of the company from 1981 to 1990.

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said about Smith in a statement, "Roger was truly a pioneer in the fast-moving global industry that we now take for granted. He was a leader who knew that we have to accept change, understand change, and learn to make it work for us."

Along with taking initiatives to grow GM's global business, Smith also consolidated the various departments to compete more efficiently on the global stage. At one time, each GM brand had separate departments for everything, including engineering and marketing.

Most people in general would recognize the work of Smith through his introduction of the Saturn, which was a direct response to foreign competition. It did well for some time, and even had a fan following for a while, but it wasn't able to sustain it over a long period of time.

Smith, who started working for GM in 1949, is survived by his wife Barbara, whom he had been married to for 25 years; and four children: Roger Jr., Jennifer Ponski, Victoria Sawula, and Drew.