Detroit’s General Motors Co. has named Paul Jacobson executive vice president and CFO, effective Dec. 1. He will report to Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of GM.
Jacobson has served as CFO of Delta Air Lines Inc. since 2012. While he was there, the company was named one of Fortune magazine’s Top 50 Most Admired Companies for six consecutive years and the top-ranked airline for eight out of nine years.
“Paul is a great addition to the GM senior leadership team and is dedicated to leading the company for the benefit of all stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders,” Barra says. “We share a commitment to teamwork and inclusion as we work toward our vision of a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion while delivering a best-in-class customer experience, operational and financial excellence, and disciplined capital allocation.”
Jacobson joined Delta as a financial analyst in 1997 and held several positions there, including senior vice president and treasurer. In March 2012, he became CFO. He was named the airline industry’s best CFO eight times by Institutional Investor magazine’s poll of Wall Street analysts and investors.
“GM’s vision is compelling because it embraces the needs of society, customers, and investors, and they are executing a historic technology shift to electrification from a position of strength,” Jacobson says. “I look forward to joining the team and helping them accelerate their plan.”
After graduating from Auburn University in Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in aviation management, Jacobson went on to earn his Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
He serves on the board of trustees for the Auburn University Foundation, The Harbert College of Business Advisory Council at Auburn, and The Owen Graduate School of Management Board of Visitors at Vanderbilt.
John Stapleton, acting CFO since Aug. 31, will continue as North America CFO, a position he has held since January 2014. Stapleton stepped into the temporary role following the departure of Dhivya Suryadevara, former executive vice president and CFO of GM, who in August was named CFO of Stripe, an e-commerce payments firm in San Francisco.
Suryadevara was named to DBusiness’ annual Powered by Women in the July/August 2020 issue, which can be found here.
“I appreciate John’s leadership and willingness to take on two roles during our search for a new CFO,” Barra says. “John’s passion for operations allowed us to take full advantage of the market recovery in North America, and he has helped the entire company meet the global challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, execute aggressive plans to protect our finances, and drive strong launch and sales performance. With John once again fully focused on our opportunities in North America, I am very confident our momentum will continue.”
