By Mike Colias

General Motors Co. appointed two new directors, including tech-industry veteran Meg Whitman, her first high-profile move since the unraveling last year of her media-startup Quibi Holdings LLC.

GM said Thursday that Ms. Whitman, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard and eBay Inc., and Mark Tatum, the NBA's deputy commissioner, joined its board effective immediately. The 51-year-old Mr. Tatum has been the NBA's chief operating officer since 2014, overseeing the league's push into international markets.

The appointments add to a GM board that corporate-governance groups have praised for its diversity, especially its inclusion of women, who now occupy seven of its 13 board seats. That includes CEO and Chairman Mary Barra.

The auto maker is among the 5% of companies in the Russell 3000 Index -- which includes nearly all publicly traded U.S. companies -- at which women account for at least half of the directors, according to the advocacy group 50/50 Women on Boards.

The subject of board diversity has come into sharper focus in the past year amid broader debates over social inequality and racial injustice.

New board-diversity rules from Nasdaq Inc. would require its listed companies to have at least one woman director and another who is either a racial minority or lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, or explain why they are falling short. The proposed rules are under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ms. Whitman most recently was CEO of Quibi, a short-form streaming-video service that set out to revolutionize Hollywood, but failed to gain traction with viewers and shut down about six months after it launched. She was recruited to the startup by Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Hollywood mogul with decades of experience in the media industry.

In a public letter announcing Quibi's shutdown, Ms. Whitman and Mr. Katzenberg apologized for letting investors and employees down, saying the company's failure was due to a combination of the timing of the launch and the ideas behind the startup.

Mr. Tatum spearheaded the NBA's overseas expansion, which has included expanding developmental leagues into foreign countries. He also oversees marketing and partnerships for the league, including adding corporate logos to team jerseys and a major marketing partnership with Nike Inc.

GM has diversified its board under Ms. Barra, who gained global notoriety in 2014 when she became the first woman to run a car company. Since 2019, at least half of GM's directors have been women, up from one-third in the year she became CEO.

Ms. Barra has worked to change GM's culture, which had long been criticized as plodding and hidebound before its 2009 bankruptcy. She has emphasized faster decision-making and pushed the 113-year-old company into electric cars and other potential growth areas.

GM and other legacy auto makers are navigating technological disruption as the emergence of advanced technologies such as vehicle connectivity and autonomous driving draw technology giants and startups alike into the car business. Many incumbents are adding tech talent to their boardrooms and executive ranks.

Ms. Barra said in a statement that appointing Ms. Whitman and Mr. Tatum brings experience in the tech sector, brand building and customer experience.

Benjamin Mullin contributed to this article.

Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-25-21 0914ET