General Motors has raided Microsoft to bring in its long-awaited new CEO, New Zealand native Chris Liddell.
In an unexpected move, General Motors has raided the high tech world of Microsoft to recruit its new Chief Financial Officer.
Wrapping up a search that began shortly after the automaker emerged from bankruptcy, last July, GM has named 51-year-old Chris Liddell to serve as its new CFO and Vice Chairman. The New Zealand native will replace Ray Young, who will become second-in-command at GM’s fast-growing International Operations.
“Chris brings a depth and experience to this job that were unmatched in our search for a new financial leader,” said GM chairman and Acting CEO Ed Whitacre, who two weeks ago hinted that a new CFO was coming. “Chris will lead our financial and accounting operations on a global basis and will report directly to me. We’re also looking to his experience and insights in corporate strategy as a member of the senior leadership team in helping our restructuring efforts.”
In his new post, Liddell will have some serious challenges ahead.
GM released preliminary third-quarter financial results, but they did not conform to traditional accounting guidelines. Liddell will have to bring the books in line with regulatory mandates and then help prepare the troubled automaker for a planned Initial Public Offering.
At that point, the government is expected to exit its role as GM’s largest shareholder. There have been indications that the White House would like to stage the IPO sometime next year, possibly in advance of the important mid-term 2010 elections, though Whitacre has indicated he has not yet decided on a timetable. During a media roundtable, earlier this month, he said that getting GM’s finances in order was a critical first step before the IPO.
Liddell has served as Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer since May 2005. (He will formally step down on December 31st and join GM early next year.) His background and diverse and includes a stint as CFO of International Paper Co. Prior to that, Liddell served as CEO of Carter Holt Harvey which was, at the time, New Zealand’s largest publicly traded firm.
The new GM CFO holds an engineering degree with honors from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a Master of Philosophy degree from Oxford University in England. He has served as director of the New Zealand Rugby Union and governor of the New Zealand Sports Foundation.
It’s been rare for Detroit to lure new talent in from the outside, over the years, particularly from the high-tech world. But GM Chairman Whitacre has suggested that will be more of a norm for the automaker, going forward.
Should Liddell miss Seattle, he could always call Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally, who served there as the second-in-command at Boeing before joining the number two U.S. automaker three years ago.