Chuck Stevens, GM’s Chief Financial Officer, will retire after 40 years with the company replacing him with Dhivya Suryadevara, the company’s vice president of corporate finance for the past 11 months.
Suryadevara will become the new CFO on September 1, with the appointment welcomed as a sign of progress toward gender equality.
“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 Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO.
Suryadevara played an integral role in the Opel divestiture, Cruise acquisition, Lyft investment and more recently, SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise. Stevens will remain with the company as an advisor until his retirement on March 1, 2019.
GM will become one of the very few companies with women serving as CEO and CFO, including Hershey Co., American Water Works Co. and Signet Jewelers Ltd., Bloomberg reports. Barra has been promoting women to key positions since taking her appointment as CEO in 2014.
Bara named Alicia Boler Davis executive VP of global manufacturing two years ago while last March she appointed Kim Brycz as senior VP of human resources.
Stevens became GM’s Chief Financial Officer in 2014. He led a cultural shift within the GM Finance team, driving for stronger business partnerships and accountability for results.
“Chuck has built a very strong team of financial leaders around the world who serve as important business partners across all markets and operations,” said Barra. “I personally want to thank Chuck for being a trusted advisor and for his significant contributions, dedication and commitment to GM throughout his career.”
