GM has named 51-year-old Chris Liddell, the former CFO of Microsoft, to the same position at GM. Liddell may be the bravest man in America, taking on what has to be one of the most daunting jobs in the entire country. His tenure at Microsoft was marked by cost management and cash stockpiling, the two things that GM needs most at this point.

Liddell is originally from New Zealand and is seen as not just a good fit for the CFO role, but potentially as the guy who could take over as the next leader of the company. He’s got an engineering degree, and interestingly, a Masters degree in Philosophy from the university of Auckland. He seems like the type of guy we’d like to have a beer with and pick his brain about stuff.

The car business seems completely different from the software industry and we see Liddell battling the old school GM culture, but if he can work his mojo and bring stability and strength to as flimsy a financial operation as GM has, he’ll be a hero. The AP has more details on the hiring. We wish him luck, because he’s certainly going to need it.