Far from taking a corporate breather after leaving Microsoft, New Zealand’s highest ranked business executive, Chris Liddell, is to take a top position at General Motors.

Mr Liddell, 51, will become chief financial officer and vice chairman at the Detroit-based  US car giant on January 1, He will succeed Ray Young, who becomes GM’s vice president of international operations on February 1.

In a then surprise move, Mr Liddell announced late in November that he would leave Microsoft, where he was CFO.

Chris Liddell (left) with Don McKinnon during a recent visit to Auckland.

Microsoft has announced that its Kiwi expatriate CFO, Chris Liddell, is to leave the company.

A press statement this morning praises Mr Liddell’s achievements but does not offer any reason for his departure.

An SEC filing states that the CFO is leaving to "pursue other opportunities".

RIGHT: Microsoft opened its first-ever retail store today, in Scottsdale Arizona. The store is modelled after similar concept stores such as Sony Style and Apple Store. The company plans a strong of such stores, but has no immediate plans for New Zealand. See the store's Facebook page and more photos here.

More than 2000 technology enthusiasts from around the country descended on Auckland this week for the Microsoft Tech Ed 2009 conference.

Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell (left) talking to the Hon. Don McKinnon ahead of his speech to a Trans-Tasman Business Circle lunch in Auckland yesterday sponsored by CPA Australia, Westpac and the University of Auckland Business School (of which Mr Liddell is a benefactor). The Seattle-based CFO - a Rugby Union director - joked that our national team's resent results were promisigly "counter-cyclical". (Photo: Chris Keall).

Microsoft’s expat CFO Chris Liddell told an Auckland audience yesterday the global economy is entering what he termed “the new normal,” or years of low growth that will seem hard-scrabble compared to the artificially high levels of the past decade, fuelled by the overheated credit.