Indian-origin Dhivya Suryadevara named General Motors CFO

General Motors (GM) has announced the appointment of Dhivya Suryadevara as Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1, 2018. Suryadevara, will report to Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO.

Chennai-born Dhivya Suryadevara, 39, is the the first woman to get the CFO position in the company. Previously, she has been vice president, Corporate Finance since July 2017. In this role, she has been responsible for corporate financial planning, investor relations and special projects.

Suryadevara also played an integral role in the Opel divestiture, Cruise acquisition, Lyft investment and more recently, SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise. From 2015 to 2017, Suryadevara served as vice president, Finance and Treasurer.

Suryadevara has 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 pension operations.

Dhivya 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.

On Suryadevara’s appointment, Mary Barra said, “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”.