No doubt some career counselors would say Kevin Clark, 49, made a good move in 1994, when he left his first job working in the finance department of Chrysler to take a treasury post at auto supplier Federal Mogul, eventually moving on to become CFO at Fisher Scientific and then a founding partner at a private equity firm, Liberty Lane Partners.

But Clark, who's now back in the auto industry as CFO of Troy, Mich.-based Delphi, says his experience at Chrysler was a terrific introduction to finance and his current Rust Belt industry post is an exciting challenge.

“Like a lot of folks growing up in Michigan, I was surrounded by the auto industry,” Clark says. “When I finished B-School, Chrysler had gone through a government rescue and was on the upswing. It was a great opportunity. They were interested in getting kids with a finance background, and identified people they thought were high potential and cycled us through different parts of the organization.”