General Motors today announced the resignation of Dhivya Suryadevara, executive vice president and CFO, who will leave the company for an external opportunity outside the automotive industry. GM will conduct an internal and external search for a successor.
In the interim, the automaker said John Stapleton, GM North America chief financial officer, has been named acting global chief financial officer, effective Aug. 15. Suryadevara, it was learned, will become CFO of Stripe, a tech firm in San Francisco that handles online billing and payments.
“Dhivya has been a transformational leader in her tenure as CFO,” says Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors. “She has helped the company strengthen our balance sheet, improve our cost structure, focus on cash generation and drive the right investments for our future. We wish her every success.”
Stapleton has been in his current role since January 2014. He joined the company in 1990 and has held a series of finance roles with increasing responsibility in manufacturing, labor, performance improvement, and operations.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given at GM,” says Suryadevara. “While I look forward to a new opportunity that will allow me to apply my skills in a new sector, I have great confidence in GM’s trajectory and future.”
Suryadevara was responsible for leading the company’s global financial and accounting operations. She had succeeded former CFO Chuck Stevens, who retired in March 2019. She was named vice president, corporate finance, in July 2017 and was responsible for investor relations, corporate financial planning and analysis, and special projects.
As vice president, finance, and treasurer from 2015 to 2017, Suryadevara oversaw capital planning, capital market activities, and worldwide banking.
Suryadevara was selected a 2020 Powered by Women honoree in the July/August issue of DBusiness magazine, now on newsstands.
