General Motors Co. tapped 39-year-old Dhivya Suryadevara to take over one of the company’s senior executive positions, making the company part a select group with women in the role of CEO and CFO.
GM appointed Suryadevara as Chief Financial Officer, effective Sept. 1, 2018. She will report to Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, the company said.
Suryadevara replaces Chuck Stevens as GM executive vice president and CFO, who has elected to retire after more than 40 years with the company, effective March 1, 2019. will remain with the company as an adviser until his retirement.
“Dhivya’s experience and leadership in several key roles throughout our financial operations positions her well to build on the strong business results we’ve delivered over the last several years,” said Barra.
(GM increasing Bolt production, per Sustainability Report. Click Here for the story.)
Suryadevara has been vice president, Corporate Finance, since July 2017. In this role, she was responsible for corporate financial planning, investor relations and special projects. She played an integral role in the Opel divestiture, the Cruise acquisition, the Lyft investment and more recently, SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise.
From 2015 to 2017, Suryadevara served as vice president, Finance and Treasurer. She helped achieve ratings upgrades from all three credit ratings agencies, completed the issuance of $2 billion in notes to fund discretionary pension contributions and upsized and renewed GM’s $14.5 billion revolving credit facility.
Suryadevara also served as CEO and chief investment officer for GM Asset Management from 2013 to 2017. In this capacity, she was responsible for the management of business and investment activities of GM’s $85 billion pension operations.
She joined GM in 2005. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in commerce from the University of Madras in Chennai, India, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Chartered Accountant.
(Click Here for more about GM revealing plans to electrify fleet in China.)
Stevens, 58, became GM CFO in January 2014. In this position, he led the company’s financial and accounting operations on a global basis. Stevens also led a cultural shift within the GM finance team, driving for stronger business partnerships and accountability for results.
“Chuck has played a crucial role in driving profitable growth across the enterprise for the last several years, as well as being a vital part of the development and execution of all aspects of the core and future business strategies for the company,” said Barra.
“Chuck has built a very strong team of financial leaders around the world who serve as important business partners across all markets and operations. I personally want to thank Chuck for being a trusted advisor and for his significant contributions, dedication and commitment to GM throughout his career.”
(To see more about SoftBank’s $2.25 billion investment in GM Cruise, Click Here.)
Prior to becoming GM’s CFO, Stevens was GM’s CFO for North America from 2010 to 2014. He also served as interim CFO for GM South America from December 2011 to January 2013. Stevens previously held leadership positions in China, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. He began his GM career at Buick Motor Division in 1978.
