[AccordSport]

39-year-old Dhivya Suryadevara becomes the first woman CFO of General Motors.

https://qz.com/1305238/gm-appoints-i...st-female-cfo/

[V.Narayan]

Good for GM. they could do with a better mix of Yin and Yang, Shiva and Shakti and now with Mary Barra and Dhivya looks like they have got it. My best wishes to this young professional. 39, by jove.

[GTO]

You can take GM out of India, but you can't take India out of GM .

Incredibly proud! And what an overachiever. This interview lends some insight into her background. Her mother single-handedly raised 3 kids after her father passed away. She went to Harvard right after graduation (getting in without work-ex is a big deal) at just 22, living off student loans.

Being the CFO of GM is some responsibility at merely 39. Wow. Again, incredibly proud of this gal. GM is now the only car company with 2 women in such senior positions:

[SmartCat]

An article in Global Times (Chinese Govt owned newspaper) on why Indians dominate (among expats) senior management positions in large global companies

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1106620.shtml

Popularization of MBA: Different from China, MBA degrees have become common for university students in India. Generally speaking, holding a bachelor's, master's, especially an MBA, or even a PhD degree in engineering has become standard for CEOs of Indian origin in US high-tech firms. Most Indians at US high-tech firms seem to follow the same career path: They start as an engineer and then manage products. It's crucial for those who wish to pursue high-level management posts, as rotations in different product or business units help one better understand the firm's strategies and operations," Dong said

Willingness to adapt: "Most of the good students in India tend to be proficient in English, so when they move to the US, Canada or the UK, it's relatively easy for them to adapt," Chander said. Meanwhile, Indians are more adaptive and more willing to express themselves and get recognition, Dong said. "It's common to see Indian students developing friendships with Americans and those from other countries and regions, while most Chinese students are confined to their small circle."

[deep_bang]

A happy-sad moment in my opinion.


Happy for the 39 year old. It's an incredible feat which few can achieve. And being an Indian, even harder to achieve these global roles.

Sad that Indians have to go out of India to get such opportunities.

Still a great role model for the youngsters (and many of us too).

[Yieldway17]

Amazing for a 39 year old to become a CXO of any company let alone one of the biggest auto makers. Just seriously amazed. But little ashamed this is the first time I'm hearing of her.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

Sad that Indians have to go out of India to get such opportunities.

Allow me to share a different perspective. This is not a criticism of your comment but I am using it as a peg to make a wider point.

Indian women have done equally well in India too. It is a myth all of us love to propagate that India has few opportunities. Women in India who are or till very recently were CEOs - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Kalpana Morparia, Renuka Ramnath, Chitra Ramakrisha, Aruna Jayanthi, Lila Poonawalla, Aparna Sharma, Renu Sud Karnad, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Usha Sangwan, Zarine Daruwala, Neelam Dhawan, Meera Sanyal, Sara Mathew......I haven't even reached the CFO list or those in the IAS/IFS or those outside the corporate realm nor does the list include women who, capable though they may be, inherited their positions.

Having built businesses in both India and the West I will be the first to admit that operating in our country is tough but not impossible and opportunities abound provided we are willing to look. But, sadly, too often we gape at the West and lament and forget which economy has grown at an average of 6.9% pa since 1999 and counting. Our countrymen who feel there are no opportunities in India with this sustained growth rate are mixing up growth opportunities with efficient municipal services and 30 varieties of cornflakes on the super market shelf. The biggest challenge of building a top class business in India is not the Govt, as most believe it, but instead it is our willingness to trade quality for price all the time.

Till then kudos to this bright young person and I hope she has a long and successful career. And it is to the credit of the Indian diaspora in at least the USA* that Indian talent is thought so highly of.

*I don't know enough about our diaspora in Canada, UK and Australia so limiting my comment to USA.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

The biggest challenge of building a top class business in India is not the Govt, as most believe it, but instead it is our willingness to trade quality for price all the time.

Thank you for your perspective.

[53BHP]

More than the gender its the age. Outstanding achievement. These talents nurtured well usually make it to the top job in these organisations

Good luck to her and more power

[Lively]

Very proud of Dhivya. Wish her many more successful miles in her journey.

Having worked both in the USA and India, I can say this. There is no dearth of opportunities in India, but USA is quicker to recognize and reward talent and hard work. Meritocracy works in the USA and it is much more easier to climb the corporate ladder there than in India. India is getting there, albeit slowly.

Kerala's Technopark's CFO is a woman. Companies here have started to consciously recruit women talent for senior positions, including the C-Suite.


PS: My first post on this forum. I'm a CXO myself and yes, I'm from Venus.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by deep_bang

A happy-sad moment in my opinion.


Happy for the 39 year old. It's an incredible feat which few can achieve. And being an Indian, even harder to achieve these global roles.

Sad that Indians have to go out of India to get such opportunities.

Still a great role model for the youngsters (and many of us too).

True, good for her! An outstanding achievement for anybody of that age. But in general, it is sad that the fact a woman is appointed to a C-level position at a big multinational is still a news worthy fact. The EU is pondering how to go about getting more woman into (international) boardroom roles. With few exceptions these are traditionally still an old white male dominated roles

Jeroen

[JediKnight]

With the risk of getting off-topic but this really gets my goat. I feel we give too much importance to so called "senior leaders". In my experience i have found so called CXO shallow ego maniacs. ( With the exception of real entrepreneurs who build businesses ground up.) There real talent is being pushy/ambitious and climbing the corporate ladder at all costs. Psychopathy is far more over-represented in senior management than in general population. The real heavy lifting is done by face less average Joes/Janes who work as hard but get 1/100 of the CXO pay cheque. When trouble brews the workers are laid off with the minimum severance whereas the CXO gets a golden parachute.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Lively

PS: My first post on this forum. I'm a CXO myself and yes, I'm from Venus.

Lively, welcome to the forum. I look forward, as do many others, to many more posts from you. I am delighted not only to have a lady member in what is almost an all bro cast and more so to see someone senior in the corporate world as a part of Team BHP.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

True, good for her! An outstanding achievement for anybody of that age. But in general, it is sad that the fact a woman is appointed to a C-level position at a big multinational is still a news worthy fact. The EU is pondering how to go about getting more woman into (international) boardroom roles. With few exceptions these are traditionally still an old white male dominated roles

Very well said Jeroen. My years on listed company Boards has taught me that when a women is on the Board the male directors hesitate to wink or look the other way or as Jack welch used to say 'no winking no blinking'.

Originally Posted by JediKnight

With the risk of getting off-topic

Yes brother you have not just gone off topic you have gone off the runway completely. Read on please.

The real heavy lifting is done by face less average Joes/Janes who work as hard but get 1/100 of the CXO pay cheque.

I feel empathy and compassion for you. Maybe you have received the wrong end of the stick or are worried about it and that frustration is eating you. Which frustration is reasonable and hurtful. But it might be a bit of a stretch to assume that all the thousands of CXOs out there in 180 countries serving the 5000 largest companies in the world were all selected on sychophancy or something worse. There are CEOs in USA especially with unbalanced golden parachute contracts but much much less so in Europe and almost non-existent in Asia.

but this really gets my goat. I feel we give too much importance to so called "senior leaders". In my experience i have found so called CXO shallow ego maniacs. ( With the exception of real entrepreneurs who build businesses ground up.) There real talent is being pushy/ambitious and climbing the corporate ladder at all costs. Psychopathy is far more over-represented in senior management than in general population.

Sir, after having served on large listed Boards in India and USA for over 15 years I can assure you no Board member votes for a CXO level person's selection except if it is a genuinely meritorious selection. Why - because that CXOs errors of omission and commission could land the board member in a lot of hot water including prison. You may be upset with your bosses but your views are far removed from how Boards and a company's top management normally works. And yes pleasing each and every employee while desirable is not always possible.

This young person has achieved a very senior position at an exceptionally young age. She deserves our good wishes regardless of our frustrations with our current or ex-bosses. I don't mean to deride you but I hope that many other young BHPians who feel like you do understand the world doesn't work they way they think it does.

[gvivek75]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

But it might be a bit of a stretch to assume that all the thousands of CXOs out there in 180 countries serving the 5000 largest companies in the world were all selected on sychophancy or something worse.
.
.
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You may be upset with your bosses but your views are far removed from how Boards and a company's top management normally works

Thanks a lot for calling it out. It wasn't just a sweeping generalisation, but also discredited the immense responsibility that top management carries on their heads.

At that level, the impact of your actions is not limited to the company's fate alone, but also several hundred/ thousand employee families, clients, suppliers and what not. Sometimes it's just scary to think of the repurcussions of any wrong move.

Back to the topic again. Feel quite happy to see this news. More power to the women folk.

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

There real talent is being pushy/ambitious and climbing the corporate ladder at all costs. Psychopathy is far more over-represented in senior management than in general population.

IF you do become a CXO please reconfirm then that you used these tricks for your success.