Ammann named GM President
New Zealander Dan Ammann, 41, General Motors’ Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to President of GM. He will manage the company’s regional operations around the world, as well as the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands and GM Financial. Ammann will report to Mary Barra, who was named CEO and made history as the first woman to hold that post at a major automaker.
In CFO Journal last Friday, Mr. Ammann wrote about how he transformed GM’s finance organization after coming on board in 2010. He put in place a “fortress balance sheet,” with ample liquidity and little debt so the company can reinvest in the business, regardless of the business cycle.
Under Mr. Ammann, GM also reduced its U.S. salaried pension obligation by $28 billion in a pension transfer transaction, more than doubled its revolving credit line to $11 billion, executed a $4.5 billion bond refinancing and secured an investment grade credit rating.
GM’s finance department employs 4,600 people globally, and Mr. Ammann wrote, “Our finance leadership team has evolved to play a much more proactive role in running the business alongside their operating management partners. A central objective of the finance team is to help drive better business decisions. To do this we need to bring high quality information and insights to the table.”
Ammann succeeded fellow New Zealander Chris Liddell as CFO of General Motors. The pair led GM’s IPO, raising US$20 billion, the largest IPO in commercial history.
Reported by Noelle Knox, Wall Street Journal
