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<ul><li>The <keyword id="6368586" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mou" source="Orion">MoU</keyword> will pave the way for both blended and dual degree programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.</li><li>The <keyword id="13592347" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blended-BSc-programme" source="Orion">blended BSc programme</keyword> is currently offered across physics, chemistry and mathematics disciplines.</li><li>The <keyword id="6361013" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="madras-university" source="Orion">Madras University</keyword> claims to have received around 300 registrations from students across the country.</li></ul>Australia’s <keyword id="200890" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="melbourne-university" source="Orion">Melbourne University</keyword> and Madras University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore teaching and research opportunities. Earlier this year, both the universities rolled out a blended Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) programme. “The MoU will enable the two universities to continue the programme collaboration while also investigating how students, faculties and researchers can benefit through possible joint PhD opportunities, knowledge sharing for early to mid-level researchers, mobility options, workshops as well as study visits and staff exchanges,” the statement says. The MoU paves the way for joint teaching programmes, both blended and dual degree programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in science, humanities, arts and social sciences in the future. It also will help research scholars with mentorship from global experts, enabling strong cultural and research connections. “This will give our students exposure to a diverse set of research subjects, with additional tools, experiences and faculty support. We look forward to working together in setting new benchmarks in higher education and enhancing research capabilities for Indian students,” said Prof S Gowri, VC, <keyword id="6361588" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="university-of-madras" source="Orion">University of Madras</keyword>. The blended BSc programme is offered across the disciplines of physics, chemistry and mathematics. The Madras University claims to have received around 300 registrations from students across the country. Only 30 students will be selected for the programme based on their application including their entrance score. The selected students will commence the course from September 20 this year. The Roaster system, as offered by Tamil Nadu government, will be duly followed. “We continue to work together on our high-quality BSc Blended programme to explore how this could work in the humanities and social sciences, and to investigate additional flexible delivery models to suit students’ needs,” said Professor Michael Wesley, deputy vice-chancellor (International) at the <keyword id="80596" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="university-of-melbourne" source="Orion">University of Melbourne</keyword>. Together, both institutions aim to initiate strong and sustainable Transnational Education (TNE) and Transnational Research (TNR) programmes. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/pvr-inox-gain-650-crore-market-cap-after-brahmastras-100-crore-opening-weekend/articleshow/94154703.cms">PVR, Inox gain ₹650 crore market cap after Brahmastra’s ₹100 crore opening weekend</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/lenskart-and-mirae-asset-capital-sign-up-with-razorpay-for-online-transactions/articleshow/94150744.cms">Lenskart and Mirae Asset Capital sign up with Razorpay for online transactions</a>

Melbourne University, Madras University sign MoU for research and teaching programmes

<ul><li>General <keyword id="2496903" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bipin-Rawat">Bipin Rawat</keyword> is set to take oath as India’s first Chief of Defence staff. </li><li>Before this, he served full three-year terms as the Indian <keyword id="6436694" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="army-chief">Army Chief</keyword> after he superseded two officers in 2016. </li><li>Rawat had also served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff for a brief period from September 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. </li></ul>General Bipin Rawat is set to take oath as India’s first Chief of Defence staff. Before this, he served full three-year terms as the Indian Army Chief after he superseded two officers in 2016. The Eastern Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mukund Naravane will replace Rawat as the Army chief. Rawat had also served as the Vice Chief of Army Staff for a brief period from September 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. An alumnus of St. Edward School, Shimla, the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Rawat was commissioned into the 5th battalion of the Eleven Gorkha Rifles in 1978. Counter insurgency specialist and high altitude warfare experience. Rawat was well known for his experience in high altitude warfare and counter-insurgency operations. He led an infantry battalion along the Line of Actual Control ( a line that separates Indian territory with that of China in Jammu and Kashmir) in the eastern sector; an infantry division in the Kashmir Valley; and a Corps in the Eastern theatre and the Southern Command. He was also a part of instructional appointments at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and at Army War College, Mhow. As the Chief of Army Staff, Rawat brought about many reforms such as bringing in leaner combat formations. He implemented integrated battle groups — a self-sustaining combat formation equivalent to the size of a brigade — to rapidly mobilize operations. Rawat along with former Defence Minister <keyword id="6355121" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajnath-Singh">Rajnath Singh</keyword>, introduced a Special Human Rights Cell and a special vigilance cell. This was after reports of human rights violations by the Indian army started doing the rounds in Kashmir valley and parts of Northeast.In his 38 years of service, he has been rewarded with many commendations along with the Army Commander’s Commendation. He had also pursued M. Phil in Defence Studies from Madras University- and received his Ph. D in military media strategic studies from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. The maverick also has a diploma in management and computer studies. He even authored authored numerous articles on ‘National Security’ and ‘Leadership’. SEE ALSO : <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/unknown-facts-about-sundar-pichai-lifestyle-likes-and-dislikes-morning-routine-and-his-wife-anjali/articleshow/72361910.cms">Chai for Pichai⁠: The lifestyle of Sundar Pichai⁠— not a ‘morning person’ ⁠— who mixed Sambhar in Payasam</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-this-33-year-old-chennai-techie-who-spotted-vikram-lander-on-moons-surface-and-alerted-nasa/articleshow/72342866.cms">Meet the 33-year-old Chennai techie who spotted Vikram Lander on Moon’s surface and alerted NAS</a>A

Meet Gen. Bipin Rawat, the newest and the first Chief of Defence staff in India

<ul><li><keyword id="1422411" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rajesh-gopinathan" source="Orion">Rajesh Gopinathan</keyword>, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of <keyword id="6357585" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tata-consultancy-services" source="Orion">Tata Consultancy Services</keyword> (<keyword id="6357150" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="tcs" source="Orion">TCS</keyword>) has tendered his resignation, which will be effective from September 15, 2023.</li><li>The Board of Directors, at its meeting held on March 16, appointed K. Krithivasan as the Chief Executive Officer Designate, with effective from March 16, 2023.</li><li>In its stock exchange filing, TCS said <keyword id="221979" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gopinathan" source="Orion">Gopinathan</keyword> had resigned to pursue other interests.</li></ul> Rajesh Gopinathan, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has tendered his resignation, which will be effective from September 15, 2023. The Board of Directors, at its meeting held on March 16, appointed K. Krithivasan as the Chief Executive Officer Designate, with effective from March 16, 2023. He shall take over as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Company in the next financial year, subject to shareholder's approval, effective date of which would be intimated in due course. In a stock exchange filing, giving the reasons for Gopinath's resignation, TCS said it was for pursuing other interests. Krithivasan is presently President and Global Head of the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) Business Group at Tata Consultancy Services. Krithivasan has been part of the global technology sector for over 34 years, having joined Tata Consultancy Services in 1989. During his long tenure at TCS, he has held various leadership roles in delivery, customer relationship management, large programme management and sales. Krithivasan is also a member of the Board of Directors of TCS Iberoamerica, TCS Ireland and the supervisory board of TCS Technology Solutions AG. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Madras and a Master's Degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from IIT Kanpur. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/time-to-move-on-from-ceo-extension-debate-for-indusind-bank-and-focus-on-the-fundamentals/articleshow/98693999.cms">Time to move on from CEO extension debate for IndusInd Bank and focus on the fundamentals</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/analysts-remain-optimistic-about-indias-top-100-stocks-most-popular-5-stocks-deliver-double-digit-returns/articleshow/98648739.cms">Analysts remain optimistic about India’s top 100 stocks: Most popular 5 stocks deliver double digit returns</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-largely-expected-to-hike-repo-rate-by-25-bps-in-april-even-as-us-fed-expected-to-take-a-pause/articleshow/98635125.cms">RBI largely expected to hike repo rate by 25 bps in April even as US Fed expected to take a pause</a>

TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan resigns to pursue other interests

New Delhi, Two Indian-born mathematicians are among the 106 recipients of the prestigious <keyword id="6391019" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="padma-awards" source="Orion">Padma Awards</keyword>, one of the highest civilian honours of the country, announced on the eve of Republic Day. Indian-American S.R. Srinivasa Varadhan has been honoured with the <keyword id="15575" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="padma-vibhushan" source="Orion">Padma Vibhushan</keyword> and Indo-Canadian Sujatha Ramdorai received the Padmi Shri for their stellar contributions in the field of science and engineering. Born in Chennai on January 2, 1940, Srinivasa Varadhan is known for his fundamental contributions to probability theory. The Mathematics professor was awarded the 2007 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters "for his fundamental contributions to probability theory and in particular for creating a unified theory of large deviations". Armed with a master's degree (1960) from the University of Madras, Varadhan earned his doctorate (1963) from the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta. In 1963, Varadhan came from India as a postdoctoral fellow to the Courant Institute in New York and never left. He is currently Professor of Mathematics and Frank J Gould Professor of Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. He was awarded the Birkhoff Prize (1994), the Margaret and <keyword id="16258085" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="herman-sokol-award" source="Orion">Herman Sokol Award</keyword> of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, New York University (1995), and the Leroy Steele Prize (1996). In 2008, the Indian government awarded him the <keyword id="100507" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="padma-bhushan" source="Orion">Padma Bhushan</keyword>. Associated with the University of British Columbia, Canada, Sujatha Ramdorai is an algebraic number theorist known for her work on the Iwasawa theory. She is the first Indian to win the prestigious International Centre for Theoretical Physics Ramanujan Prize in 2006 and also a winner of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2004. She is also the recipient of the 2020 Krieger-Nelson Prize for her exceptional contributions to mathematics research. Having served at the National Knowledge Commission from 2007-2009, Ramdorai is currently a Member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and a Member of the National Innovation Council. She completed her B.Sc. in 1982 from St Joseph's College, Bengaluru, and then got her MSc from Annamalai University in 1985. Ramdorai did her Ph.D in the area of Quadratic forms over function fields and Witt rings of varieties from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. The Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India usually around March/April every year. This year, a total of 106 Padma awards will be conferred to personalities across varied disciplines. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and <keyword id="25105" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="padma-shri" source="Orion">Padma Shri</keyword> (distinguished service).

Two Indian-born mathematicians  US, Canada get Padma awards

New Delhi, Jul 15 () Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has appointed Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa as vice-president for private sector operations and public-private partnerships. "He is currently one of the Election Commissioners of India and previously served in a range of senior posts including as Union Finance Secretary of India; Union Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change; and Union Secretary for the Ministry of Civil Aviation," ADB said in a statement. Lavasa will succeed Diwakar Gupta, whose term will end on August 31. He has extensive experience in public-private partnerships and infrastructure development at the state and federal levels, with deep knowledge on public policy and the role of private sector, it said. The former Finance Secretary was appointed Election Commissioner in January 2018. The agency further said that Lavasa led the Indian delegation in the climate change negotiations for the Paris Agreement and was instrumental in finalising India's nationally determined contributions, which included a major role of the private sector. "At both policy and project levels, he made significant contributions to the inclusion of the private sector in many development programs in India for different sectors such as energy, agriculture, finance, and infrastructure. As Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, he worked closely with many ADB projects that had private sector components," it said. Lavasa has an MBA degree from Southern Cross University in Australia, and MPhil in Defense and Strategic Studies degree from the University of Madras. He completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree with English Honors and a Master of Arts in English Literature from Delhi University. DP ANZ ANS ANS

ADB appoints Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa as new vice-president

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="4581" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="general-motors">General Motors</keyword> CFO Dhivya Suryadevara is leaving the automaker to pursue what the company said is an opportunity outside the car business.</li><li>Not long after the <keyword id="6372405" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="gm">GM</keyword> news, online-payments company Stripe announced that Suryadevara would become its CFO.</li><li>John Stapleton, GM's North America CFO, will step in on an interim basis.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-becomes-first-car-company-to-have-both-female-ceo-and-cfo-2018-6">Suryadevara became CFO in 2018</a>, joining CEO Mary Barra and forming the only top all-female leadership duo in the <keyword id="34478" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="auto-industry">auto industry</keyword>.</li></ul>General Motors said on Tuesday that Dhivya Suryadevara would resign as its chief financial officer to pursue an opportunity outside the auto industry. That opportunity is with online-payments company Stripe, which <a href="https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/dhivya-suryadevara" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> soon after that Suryadevara would join as its CFO."I'm very excited to join Stripe at a pivotal time for the company," Suryadevara said in a statement issued by the payments firm. "Stripe's mission to increase the GDP of the internet is more important now than ever. I really enjoy leading complex, large-scale businesses and I hope to use my skills to help accelerate Stripe's already steep growth trajectory."General Motors said John Stapleton, its North America CFO, would step in on an interim basis effective August 15 while the company seeks a permanent replacement."Dhivya has been a transformational leader in her tenure as CFO," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "She has helped the company strengthen our balance sheet, improve our cost structure, focus on cash generation and drive the right investments for our future. We wish her every success."Suryadevara became CFO in 2018, joining Barra and forming the only all-female team in the C-suite of a major automaker."I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given at GM," she said in a GM statement. "While I look forward to a new opportunity that will allow me to apply my skills in a new sector, I have great confidence in GM's trajectory and future."Suryadevara joined GM in 2004 and rapidly distinguished herself as an executive to watch after the carmaker's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent 2010 re-listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Since the beginning of 2020, she has been managing the carmaker's finances through the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented pressure on GM's business.<h2>A General Motors veteran with increasing responsibilities at the company</h2><div type="image" title="GM EV Barra" height="1334" width="1778" msid="77487794" hostid="261"></div>Born in Chennai, India, Suryadevara studied business in college at the University of Madras and did a stint at PricewaterhouseCoopers, then came to the US to attend Harvard Business School, earning her MBA and laying the groundwork for a top-flight career in finance.She worked at UBS before joining GM when she was 25. Responsibilities came quickly, and by 2013, in the aftermath of GM's 2009 federal bailout, bankruptcy, and subsequent stock-exchange re-listing, she was CIO of GM Asset Management, taking care of the company's $85 billion pension fund."I like getting down to first principles with everything, challenging assumptions and getting down to the basics," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/general-motors-first-female-cfo-dhivya-suryadevara-profile-slay-complexity-2019-11">she said in a 2019 interview with Business Insider.</a> "If you don't have a fundamental understanding of what you're doing, it's not a good place to be."After she took over from GM veteran Chuck Stevens, she immediately brought a well-prepared and self-confident manner to quarterly interactions with Wall Street investment-bank analysts, a group she knew well from her experiences of being based in New York and overseeing GM's pension fund."It's been awesome," Suryadevara told Business Insider. "The role is incredibly rewarding and challenging. I've been fortunate."

Dhivya Suryadevara is leaving GM, where she was part of the only female CEO-CFO team in the auto industry

Lt Gen <keyword id="7735201" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manoj-Mukund-Naravane">Manoj Mukund Naravane</keyword> becoming the next Indian army chief upon the retirement of the present army chief Gen Bipin Ravat on December 31, 2019. An alumnus of the Indian Military Academy and the National Defence Academy, Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane is a highly suitable pick for the post he will be holding in several regards. Here are a few interesting and must know facts about him that have paved the royal road for the highly envied position he will be holding. Early life and schooling Naravane was born in a Marathi Brahmin family. He did his schooling in Pune at the Jnana Prabodhini Prashala. He holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from The University of Madras, Chennai. He also did his M.Phil in Defence and Management from Ahilya Vishwavidhyalaya, Indore. Some notable honors he received Naravane is the recipient of the Sena Medal which was given to him for effectively commanding the battalion under him in Jammu and Kashmir. He also received the Visishta Seva Medal for his services as the Inspector General of the Assam Rifles in Nagaland. He holds the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in praise of his efficient commanding of strike corps. The latest position held in the army The latest position held by Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane in the Indian army was the head of the Eastern Command of the Army that closely guards the 4,000-km border that India shares with its neighbor China. Bounty of experiences he had During his career, Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane had been the commander of the Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He had also commanded the infantry brigade on the eastern border. He had been a part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force deputed to Sri Lanka and had functioned for three years as India's defence attache in Myanmar at the Indian Embassy. He is the senior-most officer in the Indian army Next to Bipin Rawat, he is now the senior-most officer in the Indian army. In selecting Manoj Mukund Naravane for this highest post in the Indian army, the government has followed the method of naming the senior-most person next to the existing chief. During earlier nominations for the post, the governments of those times chose the new chiefs from a group of top officers, clearly overlooking the seniority. Well-versed in China matters Matters related to China are becoming crucially important for the Indian army more than any time in the past. Notably, Manoj Mukund Naravane has a wealth of knowledge about China matters. For so long, he had been commanding the forces guarding a significant portion of the Indo-China border. The challenge in front of Naravane Amidst the several challenges Naravane would face in his new position, he will have to make sure the army gets enough funding for the acquisition programs it is contemplating on right now. He is taking charge during the time when a massive modernization program is underway in all the three wings of the army and every wing is battling for its luck to get the lion’s share of the government’s funding.

Interesting facts about Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane who is becoming the new army chief

Yes! Education is a vital factor in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=human+resource+development+">human resource development</a> and it is a known fact since time immemorial. Schools and universities played a major role in educating pupils about their rights during the Indian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Independence+movement+">Independence movement</a> against the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=British+rule+">British rule</a> (1858–1947). Freedom fighters, then, had realized one thing that nothing could compensate education, which was the best tool to encourage the youth to join the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=freedom+struggle">freedom struggle</a>. 
 The year 1857 was very important not only from the point of view of the first ever revolt we had against the British, but a storm was also cooking up in the education sector, which eventually grew leaps and bounds. Do you know three prominent universities – University of Calcutta, University of Madras and <keyword id="331666" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="University-of-Bombay">University of Bombay</keyword> - were established in this year. It was a huge thing at that time as we were under the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=British+East+India+Company">British East India Company</a>, which wanted to bring development for its own sake. 
 
<a href="file:///C:/Users/gunja.d/Documents/August%202015/Pandit%20Madan%20Mohan%20Malviya">Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya</a>, Sir <keyword id="453933" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Syed-Ahmad-Khan">Syed Ahmad Khan</keyword> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Rabindranath+Tagore+">Rabindranath Tagore</a> invested their own money for the cause of education. Tagore used the money, which he received along with his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Nobel+Prize">Nobel Prize</a>, to expand his school into a university known as Visva-Bharati University. After Independence, schools, colleges and universities mushroomed across India with the formation of the <keyword id="56459" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="University-Grants-Commission">University Grants Commission</keyword> (UGC) in 1956 and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Central+Board+of+Secondary+Education+">Central Board of Secondary Education</a> in 1962. 
 Since then, India’s education sector witnessed tremendous changes and even after Independence, the number of schools and universities also grew in numbers. The number of universities has increased 34 times from 20 in 1950 to 677 in 2014. The sector boasts of 45 Central Universities of which 40 are under the purview of <keyword id="204273" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ministry-of-HRD">Ministry of HRD</keyword>, 318 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=State+Universities">State Universities</a>, 185 State Private universities, 129 Deemed to be Universities, 51 Institutions of National Importance under the ministry (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IITs">IITs</a> - 16, NITs – 30 and IISERs – 5). The number of colleges has also registered manifold increase of 74 times with just 500 in 1950 growing to 37,204, as on 31st March, 2013. 
 
We bring you some facts about universities, which were set up before Independence and still standing tall:

#IndependenceDay: Universities in India then and now

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GMDhivya Suryadevara.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Dhivya Suryadevara, 40, is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-becomes-first-car-company-to-have-both-female-ceo-and-cfo-2018-6">first female CFO of a major US automaker</a>.</li><li>She joins Mary Barra, CEO of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/gm">General Motors</a>, as one half of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-becomes-first-car-company-to-have-both-female-ceo-and-cfo-2018-6">only all-women C-suite team in the business.</a></li><li>Suryadevara was born in India, came to the US to attend Harvard Business School, and worked on Wall Street before joining <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/gm-stock">GM</a>.</li><li>With Barra and the GM leadership team, Suryadevara is working to transform a 111-year-old company with vast global operations and $150 billion in annual revenue.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a></li></ul>New Yorkers might not know it, but Detroit giant General Motors has an office in midtown Manhattan.It's not in the actual GM building, a mid-1960s skyscraper that the company effectively sold in the 1990s and that was later partly owned by Donald Trump. GM's views of Gotham are now found at the nearby AllianceBernstein Building, once known as Burlington House, another mid-'60s monument to American capitalism.From there, Dhivya Suryadevara, GM's chief financial officer, oversees the economic well-being of the largest US car company, often flying up to GM headquarters in Motown to connect with CEO Mary Barra and other members of the management team.It's an arrangement that emphasizes Suryadevara's critical role as the face of GM for Wall Street, more than her historic job as the first female CFO of a company that in 2014 hired its first female CEO in Barra. Suryadevara, 40, joined GM in 2004 and rapidly distinguished herself after the car maker's 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent 2010 relisting on the New York Stock Exchange as an executive to watch at the company.Following the retirement of GM veteran Chuck Stevens as CFO, Suryadevara got the job. She had worked closely with Dan Ammann, who served as CFO before Stevens and had become GM's president, overseeing deals such as a $1 billion all-in purchase of San Francisco self-driving startup Cruise Automation in 2016 and GM's sale of its Opel-Vauxhall European division to Peugeot in 2018. (Last year, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-cruise-division-new-ceo-dan-ammann-2018-11">Ammann gave up the president's title to become CEO of Cruise</a>, now valued at nearly $20 billion after investments from Japan's SoftBank and Honda.)<h2>India to Harvard to GM: a long road traveled in a short time</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Bill Pugliano / StringerMary Barra is the CEO of General Motors.</div></div></div>Suryadevara had come a long way. She was born in Chennai, India, and lost her father when she was a child. Raised by her mother, along with her two siblings, she studied business in college at the University of Madras and did a stint at PricewaterhouseCoopers, then came to the US to attend Harvard Business School, earning her MBA and laying the groundwork for a top-flight career in finance.She worked at UBS before joining GM when she was 25. Responsibilities came quickly, and by 2013, in the aftermath of GM's 2009 federal bailout, bankruptcy and subsequent stock-exchange relisting, she was CIO of GM Asset Management, taking care of the company's $85 billion pension fund.That New York-based role, and her performance in it, captured the attention of Ammann, who singled it out when I asked his opinion of Suryadevara in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-mary-barra-management-helped-save-automaker-2018-10">2018 for a profile of GM's C-suite</a>. GM's leadership was already impressed by her talents when the opportunity arrived to name a new CFO, which in the process created the first all-female team in the auto industry. Suryadevara joined Mary Barra as the executive duo that would argue the 111-year-old car maker's case to Wall Street every quarter."It's been awesome," Suryadevara told Business Insider in an interview on the 20th floor of the AllianceBernstein Building, in a conference room named for GM's legendary mid-20th-century president, Alfred Sloan, the father the modern American corporation. "The role is incredibly rewarding and challenging. I've been fortunate."<h2>Getting down to first principles</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/troy-wolverton">Troy Wolverton</a>Former GM president Dan Ammann. He's now CEO of Cruise.</div></div></div>Suryadevara alternates between youthful enthusiasm, steely management pronouncements, and expressing a broad but detailed perspective on GM's past and future. Smartly attired in white jeans and a short black jacket, she projects a modern image of Detroit, bent through the lens of New York fashion. She spends half her time in Manhattan, living with her husband and daughter on the Upper West Side. (She drives a Cadillac XT4 in the Big Apple and a Chevy Camaro in Motown.)"I like the amazing restaurants with authentic food in New York," she said, confessing to being a serious gastronome. She's also a fitness fanatic who counterbalances her dining-out enthusiasms by taking advantage of New York's "million different workout classes" and the city's never-sleep energy. But she's also a Detroiter who says the revitalization of the city, its arts and music, and its automotive DNA all inspire her.She might lean a bit more toward the Big Apple, though. Suryadevara's manner combines poise with more than a dose of New York moxie. More than once during our conversation, she thumps the table to stress a point. She takes not a minute to gaze out the windows at the midtown vistas to collect her thoughts. They're already collected and ready to go.Stevens was a steady hand on GM's post-bankruptcy business; it was impossible, even futile, to discombobulate the man, as investment-bank analysts discovered at financial events and on quarterly earnings calls. Suryadevara hadn't been tested by the media before her ascent to CFO, but she knew Wall Street. Her first interaction with analysts, at the end of October 2018, served notice: Suryadevara was going to perpetuate Stevens' focus and discipline - and intensify it.Barra has already indicated that this was what was in store for the financial community. She told me last year that Suryadevara never does anything without comprehensive preparation. She's one of those executives you don't have to worry about getting up to speed because she's already setting the pace. Or exceeding it.GM's finances aren't just complicated - they're sprawling, encompassing huge international markets and featuring eye-watering credit operations and oceans of cash. In a single quarter, the company typically notches over $30 billion in revenue and posts a profit of more than $2 billion. But do that math: In the US alone, GM sells nearly 3 million vehicles every year, and in China it's 3.6 million. In one year, $150 billion in revenue flows through the balance sheet.Faced with cash flows of that magnitude, some managers would blanch; instead, Suryadevara zeroes in on what matters to the business."I like getting down to first principles with everything, challenging assumptions and getting down to the basics," she said. "If you don't have a fundamental understanding if what you're doing, it's not a good place to be."<h2>Fundamental No. 1: Return on invested capital</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GM</div></div></div>Fundamental No. 1 for GM under Barra has been to maximize its return on invested capital. Barra has been unwavering in her commitment to that goal since she negotiated the difficult ignition-switch recall that intensified after she became CEO. With ROIC as its North Star, GM has shed its underperforming divisions, streamlined its South Korean operations, invested in self-driving technology, and announced a thoroughgoing rework of its vehicle portfolio to shift the company to electrification.Barra has also made tough calls on GM's North American manufacturing footprint. The car maker began the process of shutting down two factories, in Michigan and Ohio, drawing the ire of the United Auto Workers and President Donald Trump before retreating in its plans as it hammered out a new four-year contract with its 49,000 UAW-represented hourly workers and endured a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-workers-ratify-new-contract-ending-longest-strike-50-years-2019-10">40-day strike that ended right before the automaker reported third-quarter earnings</a>. (GM beat expectations with a solid profit, but Suryadevara was left to contend with a $1 billion loss for the period and a trimming-back of GM's overall expectations for 2019's margins.) The industrial logic of Barra's move was simple: GM has enough US capacity to build a million more vehicles than it can sell in that market, a market that's been running at peak levels for the past five years. That's a serious business challenge, one that encourages Barra to limit difficulties elsewhere in GM's operations. Fortunately, in Suryadevara, Barra has a financial-complexity assassin."I've spent a lot of time at GM slaying complexity," she said. "There's good complexity and there's not-good complexity."The latter has to go, or at least be correctly managed. She cited as an example the nearly $30 billion in pension liabilities GM offloaded under her supervision. (The deal, completed in 2012 when she was managing director of investment strategy, involved swapping future pension payments to retirees for Prudential annuities, effectively de-risking GM's balance sheet and reducing the type of legacy costs that had sent the company into insolvency in 2009.)<h2>Making big and important decisions, and not realizing how big and important they were</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Chevy</div></div></div>Direct, relentless questioning is how Suryadevara eliminates as much intricacy as possible. "Why are we doing X?" she asked. The common answer, especially at a gigantic conglomerate, is "because of Y and Z" - a familiar, entrenched sequence of received thinking.Suryadevara's reaction is to ask, "Why is Y Y and Z Z?" Once this issue has been raised, Suryadevara and her team can decide if the process actually still makes sense."We talk through what's really important," she said. "We distill and then we make recommendations."This can be an uncomfortable experience for people who've been cranking out PowerPoints since freshman year."You don't have to put anything together for me. Let's just chat. If we have to get some data, we'll obviously get it."If one mistakenly assumes that attitude means Suryadevara is conducting chill seminars in first principles, she's ready to dispel misconceptions with a little table pounding."There needs to be a path to making a reasonable return on capital," she says, punctuating the message with three or four thumps. "It all comes back to this simple concept, at the end of the day."Pulling herself back again and again to this fundamental notion, Suryadevara even uses it to frame her memorable moments in her 15 years at GM. "It's been a series of important decisions we've made," she adds. "When we made the decisions, we knew they were big and important. But looking back we didn't realize how big and important."<h2>Keep putting proof points on the board</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dexxus/3822382189/in/photolist-cCTs3j-6PLH4c-8S2BDt-nmXbDy-iiaTAe-bQuFYp-bm6piy-8VCW4d-8af7a5-7fzu3E-otirrW-njPmn9-i3QdAy-h39SUT-gTKiX7-gvuc3L-fLVF73-7QxWsb-54cABU-fTc24E-ftw1Qe-fmFb8L-eWpB83-eWpAJj-eJRNjw-erq2n7-ejbMUE-edezwK-dHZxx4-cbHERd-c9Grnh-c8B1N3-bxUJ7K-bjwS7C-bpuFRi-booP6B-9riPS1-8KfGJW-8aJrP5-7YJCFE-79inng-77ZWJx-6iCgWY-5VhtAE-58Y5dy-54Xma4-3KDKXM-n2G13-8zoW4-eVHzKq">Flickr / paul bica</a></div></div></div>GM has been steadily profitable since its 2010 IPO, but the company's stock has been off its trading highs of about $45 for more than a year. Before the UAW strike, shares appeared to be setting a floor at $37, but despite five years and a gain of around 15%, the stock's 10-year performance, at 6%, has lagged behind the broader markets by a notable margin.The company has compensated investors with a multibillion-dollar stock-buyback program, now winding down to a final $3.5 billion tranche, and a 4% dividend yield. Several analysts are bullish on GM and have praised its efforts with Cruise, creating a $20 billion company that's tied to a $50 billion one. But Wall Street has been anticipating a US sales downturn for four years, and though the market has instead set records or near-records, skepticism has been difficult to overcome.Suryadevara summarizes GM's position, one that has been articulated most forcefully by Mark Reuss, GM's president and main product guy."We've been putting proof points on the board," she said. "And we want to keep posting proof points."Additionally, Suryadevara believes GM has to tell two compelling stories."We want to be great at our core business and great at the future," she said. "It's not an or - it's an and." (The table was spared her fury for that insight.)Given that, it might be a good thing that she lives in the city that never sleeps and brings that relentless ethos to Detroit. Reflecting on her time at the largest US automaker and the No. 4 worldwide (behind the VW Group, Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi, and Toyota), Suryadevara says she doesn't always have restful nights, in either metropolis."I lie awake at night thinking about how we're going to set this company up to be successful for decades to come." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chevrolet-corvette-c8-2020-mid-engine-supercar-sports-car-2019-9">How the new Chevrolet Corvette went from sports car to supercar</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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