One Kiwi replaces another at GM

Chris Liddell. Photo / Supplied

United States car giant General Motors is revolving the door on its Kiwi executives as Daniel Ammann takes over as chief financial officer from compatriot Chris Liddell.

Liddell has known Ammann, who takes over on April 1, since hiring him out of Waikato University in the early 1990s to join First NZ Capital.

"To a large extent I achieved all of the things that I wanted to ... I think we've managed to do about three years work in one," Liddell told the Herald.

"I was also very conscious about having a very strong successor and I'm delighted that it's Dan, for a number of reasons, one of which obviously is that he's a fellow Kiwi."

Ammann, 38, holds a bachelor of management studies (first class) in economics and finance from the University of Waikato.

"This is not what I had in mind at the time," Ammann said.

"One step in the journey leads to another and you never know exactly where the next step's going to take you," he said.

Ammann, who became vice president finance and treasurer at GM in April last year, said he could not be more thrilled and was "slightly terrified". "I came into this a year ago without knowing really where it was going [or] how it was going to end and I'm really excited to be in the place I'm in."

Ammann moved to New York in 1997 and for the last 11 years has been working at Morgan Stanley, where he was the lead adviser on the bankruptcy and restructuring of GM.

He also spent five years at Credit Suisse in New York and New Zealand.

"I think at one point Chris said to me if I end up going to GM the first call I'm going to make is to try to get you in there as well."

The US$23 billion raised by GM's initial public offer which went live in November was the largest in history.

There was a lot of opportunity that had not been pursued for several years because the company had been in a period of financial distress and decline, he said.

Just about everyone in the senior team was new in their jobs, Ammann said. "There's a lot of fresh thinking that's gone on, a lot of new approaches that have been taken and it's a really unique opportunity to have a fresh start with such a big business," he said. "Fundamentally this remains a very tough business, it's highly competitive, it's capital intensive, it can be cyclical but what we've tried to do is to really change the business model in a way that makes us much more sustainable so we're not lurching from guard rail to guard rail."

Liddell said he was delighted for New Zealand that there was another Kiwi in such a senior role.

"People say, 'Oh Chris well he was just a oncer', but now we've got two."

"So it's not specific to me, there's something in the water down there that if you drink it the right way you can make it."

Daniel Ammann

Born: 1972.
Studied: University of Waikato.
Qualification: Bachelor of management studies in economics and finance.
2004: Morgan Stanley managing director and head of industrial investment banking.
2010: General Motors vice-president finance and treasurer.
2011: General Motors chief financial officer.

owen.hembry@nzherald.co.nz