December 22, 2009

General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. reached outside the auto industry to recruit a new chief financial officer from software giant Microsoft Corp.'s senior ranks.Microsoft CFO Christopher Liddell, 51, will become vice chairman and CFO of GM in Whitacre's latest move to speed up a cultural transformation at the struggling U.S. automaker.With Liddell's appointment, announced Monday, GM hopes to improve its financial management, which was criticized by members of President Barack Obama's auto task force as being among the worst they'd seen at a large corporation.

Liddell brings impressive experience and qualifications to GM: He holds a degree in engineering, ran a big forest products company in his native New Zealand and, as CFO of Microsoft, helped draft a $3 billion cost-cutting plan."Chris brings a depth and experience to this job that were unmatched in our search for a new financial leader," Whitacre said in a statement.Liddell is Whitacre's first major hire since he pushed out former CEO Fritz Henderson on Dec. 1 after the two clashed repeatedly.