CFO, General Motors
Age: 39
Industry: Automotive
Last fall Ammann spent weeks on the road persuading investors to buy General Motors stock. Now he's working to keep them happy. The native New Zealander advised GM for years as a Morgan Stanley banker before taking over as CFO this spring. His job today: making sure the automaker stays profitable in any market -- historically a tough task for GM. "We're off to a good start," says Ammann, who splits his time between Detroit and New York City; this year GM has earned $6.3 billion in a humdrum economy.
Least favorite business term: "End-to-end solution."
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