DETROIT and DEARBORN, Mich. -

Two of the Big 3 automakers announced shifts in their financial leadership late last week, with General Motors revealing its new vice president of finance and treasurer and Ford announcing the replacement at the controller of The Americas position for David Schoch.

Schoch will become chairman and chief executive officer of Ford Motor China. Taking his place as controller of The Americas will be K.R. Kent, currently the executive director of investor relations for the automaker. Both moves are effective Nov. 1.

GM, meanwhile, announced that James Davlin will become vice president of finance and treasurer on Oct. 3. Davlin’s most recent post was at Deere & Co., serving as its vice president of corporate strategy and business development.

Davlin reports to senior vice president and chief financial officer Dan Ammann in the new role.

“Jim brings broad expertise and leadership in finance and treasury operations. As treasurer, much of his immediate focus will be on maintaining our fortress balance sheet, de-risking our pension plans and achieving investment grade credit ratings,” Ammann noted.

Davlin will be responsible for heading up GM’s global treasury operations. This consists of tasks like capital planning, capital market activities, worldwide banking, and pension funding. Davlin will also be involved in business development, risk management and investor relations.

"His experience as a finance leader in other large, global companies makes him well suited to contribute to our efforts to improve our operational leverage, drive global growth and achieve long-term profitability for GM," Ammann emphasized.

More on Ford Changes

Back at Ford, moving into Kent’s role on Nov. 1 is George Sharp, who currently serves as director of investor relations.

In the new position as controller, Kent will take on senior financial leadership for all of The Americas. He will report to Mark Fields, who serves as president of The Americas and is an executive vice president with Ford.

Kent has been with Ford since 1987 and his tenure has included a bevy of financial posts, including time as CFO of Ford Motor Credit.

"K.R. brings a wealth of experience to The Americas, including insights and lessons learned during international assignments," Fields stated. "He has been a great partner as leader of our investor relations team, and now we look forward to K.R. assuming a central role within The Americas."

The man Kent replaces — Schoch — will head up all aspects of operations and business leadership for the automaker in China. Schoch will report to Joe Hinrichs, who is group vice president and president of Asia Pacific and Africa for Ford.

"We have put in place aggressive expansion plans for Ford in China," Hinrichs stated. "As Ford China enters into a phase of accelerated growth, Dave, with his unique combination of skills and experience, is well suited to lead Ford China and take our expansion plans to the next level, including bringing four new plants on line and launching 15 new vehicles by 2015.

“Dave’s appointment greatly strengthens our leadership team in China and demonstrates Ford’s continued strong commitment to China, a key driver of Ford’s global growth in the next 10 years and beyond,” he added.

Lastly, Sharp has been with Ford since 1976 and has held several posts within Ford’s financial operations.

“George brings experience and knowledge about Ford, the automotive and financial services industry and the capital markets,” said Ford vice president and treasurer Neil Schloss, which is to whom Sharp will report.