General Motors CHIEF Financial Officer Shivya Suryadevara resigned from the company after two years in a position outside the automotive industry.
GM said John Stapleton, the company’s North American CFO, will serve as interim CFO starting August 15.
Suryadevara, the first woman to hold the position of ceo, joined Stripe, a San Francisco-based global online payments company, as the new CFO, Stripe said in a press Tuesday.
“I am very excited to subscribe to Stripe at a crucial time for the company. Stripe’s project to build Internet GDP is more vital than ever,” Suryadevara said in Stripe’s press release. “I enjoy running complex businesses on a large scale and look forward to using my skills to help drive Stripe’s already steep expansion trajectory.”
In a press release on Tuesday morning, GM said Suryadevara would leave the company “for an outdoor outdoor opportunity for the automotive industry. GM will conduct an internal and external search for a successor.”
“It’s very disappointing,” Morningstar analyst David Whiston said. “She’s very good, and I think other corporations have understood her and one of them has hired her. I don’t think it’s something that (GM CEO Mary) Barra would look for to happen, but it shows that the skill caliber it has to combine is good. Array “
In fact, Barra said Suryadevara is a transformational leader.
COVID-19 impact: Clorox manufactures 1 million packs of disinfectant wipes a day
Retirement saves money on: after ignoring stock market difficulties in the spring, investors empty
“It has helped the company improve our balance sheet, improve our position structure, focus on generating money and drive the right investments for our future,” Barra said in a statement. “We wish you every single success.”
Suryadevara, who joined GM in 2005, 39 when she was appointed CHIEF Financial Officer in June 2018. He succeeded Chuck Stevens, who retired on March 1, 2019. Previously, Suryadevara worked on GM’s divestment of its Opel operations in Germany; its acquisition of the independent-generation corporate cruiser; GM’s investment in the Lyft ride-sharing service and its partnership with SoftBank to invest $2.25 billion in Cruise.
It was the driving force behind GM’s announcement in November 2018 that it would first close five plants in North America and eliminate tens of thousands of salaried and hourly jobs to restructure the company. GM eventually closed three: the Lordstown Assembly of Ohio, which has since sold to Lordstown Motors, Baltimore Transmission and Warren Transmission of Michigan.
But GM has particularly narrowed its ranks under Suryadevara. He ousted some 3,750 employees through acquisitions and fired 5,000. He said GM would get $2 billion to $2.5 billion in 2019 cost savings from those shares.
But with the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was a difficult year for the automotive industry and GM didn’t go unscathed, it fared better than its long-distance rivals Ford Motor Co. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
In the last quarter, GM reported a net loss of $800 million, 132% less than at the same time last year. GM spent $8 billion on auto-operating money in the quarter.
But there were some positive aspects. Suryadevara was confident on Wall Street that the part of the year would do so and that GM would pay for the $16 billion renewable line of credit that he contracted this year to weather the pandemic. And, as Free Press first reported, GM said it would repair the full wages of its 69,000 workers a month ahead of schedule.
More: GM to fix full pay for 69,000, but CEO will keep pay cut
GM ended the quarter with $30.6 billion in car cash.
In 2019, Suryadevara’s total repayment was $6.8 million, up from $5.5 million in 2018.
“I am grateful for the opportunities that have presented the opportunity presented to me at GM,” Suryadevara said. “As I look at a new opportunity that will allow me to apply myself in a new sector, I have great confidence in GM’s trajectory and future.”
Stapleton, 52, joined GM in 1990. He has been in his current position since January 2014. An avid fisherman in his spare time, Stapleton has performed a number of monetary roles with the expansion of daily jobs in manufacturing, work, functionality improvement and operations. says the company.
A GM spokesman said Stapleton held production finance positions at several GM plants and at its Detroit headquarters. He has also been a key leader in several contract negotiations with the UAW, adding that the 40-day strike last fall opposed the automaker in its role as GM North America’s leading monetary director.
Follow Detroit Free Press reporter Jamie L. LaReau on Twitter @jlareauan.