Women in the Workplace Feature: Dhivya Suryadevara

This week we will be featuring a prominent and well-accomplished woman in the workplace. Our very first feature is: Dhivya Suryadevara.

Who is she?

In 2018, then-Vice President of Corporate Finance, Dhivya Suryadevara, was appointed as the CFO of General Motors. She was the first female CFO in the company’s 110-year history. Dhivya began her career at GM 14 years prior to this promotion. Most recently, she has shifted industries and now serves as the CFO of Stripe, an e-commerce payments company. 

Born and raised in Chennai, India, her mother raised her with high expectations and a strong work ethic. Dhivya never expected to work in the automotive industry but she has always enjoyed anything “challenging and complicated.” 

Dhivya completed her bachelors and masters degrees in commerce at the University of Madras and worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers during her undergraduate studies. She then traveled to the U.S at the age of 22 to attend Harvard University where she graduated with an MBA. In 2002 she gained an internship at the World Bank and then joined UBS as an investment banker. At 25, she began her career at GM. 

In 2013, Dhivya was named the Chief Investment Officer of GM Asset Management. Then, in 2015 she took on the role of Vice President of Finance and Treasurer while managing GM’s $85 billion pension operations. 

What she has accomplished:

Shortly after her promotion in 2015, Dhivya achieved a position on Forbes’ 40 under 40 list; she has been awarded a spot on that list twice, once it 2015 and again in 2018. Upon becoming Vice President of Corporate Finance in 2017, Dhivya played a crucial role in “the Opel divestiture, Cruise acquisition, Lyft investment [and] SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise,” according to GM. The Detroit Free Press has further elaborated that “SoftBank, a large technology investment company with stakes in such companies as Uber, will invest $2.25 billion in GM Cruise, and GM will invest $1.1 billion in GM Cruise, its self-driving arm, when the transaction closes at the end of June.”

Dhivya has also been recognized for her accomplishments on MotorTrend’s 2020 Power List, Automotive News' 2019 All Stars, Fortune's Most Powerful Women to Watch, 40 Under 40 (Fortune magazine and Crain's Detroit Business), World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders, and others. 

A bit more about Dhivya:

Dhivya traveled to the United States for the first time when she moved there to attend Harvard University. She recalls the experience being a cultural shock and having to work extra hard to manage her finances efficiently and gain work experience as soon as she finished her studies. 

Dhivya’s mindset was that “[she] was only limited by how much effort and time [she] wanted to put in, which is what made [her] want to work harder.” She has also said that managing so many responsibilities and a family has taught her to be more efficient. With her team in Detroit and her family in New York, Dhivya makes sure that she spends her time wisely on the weekdays so she can dedicate her weekends to her daughter. 

Winding down and finding an outlet for stress is also incredibly important - Dhivya uses exercise, specifically kickboxing - to “keep herself sane.” In her interview with Real Simple, she shares some wise words on her thoughts about balance: “You can’t follow a template that works for someone else. It’s about prioritization.”

She also points out that it's important to realize that not all days or weeks are the same. Some will be harder than others and you need to make the most of your time. Dhivya teaches us that while working hard to succeed is important, so is focusing on yourself and the things most important to you.