Mary Barra

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Mary Barra, shown in 2012, became CEO of General Motors in 2014 and has the distinction of being the first female chief executive in the automotive industry.

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Mary Barra, née Mary Teresa Makela (born December 24, 1961, Waterford, Michigan), is chief executive officer and chair of the board of General Motors Company (GM). When she was appointed CEO in 2014, Barra became the first woman to head a global automaker.

Growing up in suburban Detroit, Barra was immersed in the automotive industry from an early age. Her father worked as a skilled die maker for GM for 39 years, and the new vehicles he would occasionally bring home helped spark her early interest in engineering and the company. At age 10, she was captivated by a cousin’s late-’60s red Chevrolet Camaro convertible, later describing it as “a beautiful, beautiful vehicle.”

Barra began her career with GM in 1980 at age 18. Through the company’s cooperative education program, she worked while attending college, inspecting fenders and hoods at a GM plant in Pontiac, Michigan. In return, the company helped pay her tuition at General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in Flint. She earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1985. She and her older brother, Paul, were the first generation of their family to attend college.

After graduating, Barra became a senior engineer at GM’s Pontiac Fiero plant. Recognizing her leadership potential, General Motors awarded her a fellowship to attend the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Barra graduated with an MBA in 1990 and returned to GM, where she led manufacturing planning.

From 1999 to 2001, Barra headed GM’s internal communications team. In 2003, she became the plant manager for the Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant. The following year, she was selected to serve as the company’s executive director of vehicle manufacturing engineering, and in 2008 she advanced to the position of vice president for GM’s global manufacturing engineering division.

She continued to gain experience in diverse sectors within the company, working as GM’s vice president for global human resources beginning in 2009. In 2011, she returned to the product and engineering side as senior vice president of global product development, overseeing the design, engineering, program management, and quality of the company’s vehicles worldwide.

Sales rose 13% under her leadership, earning praise from industry leaders and making her the highest-ranking woman in the automotive industry. Two years later, she was promoted to executive vice president for global product development, purchasing, and supply chain.

Barra was named the automaker’s CEO on December 10, 2013, and officially began her role January 15, 2014. At the time, Barra was just one of 23 women to head a Fortune 500 company. Her rise through the ranks of product development marked a shift from GM’s tradition of appointing CEOs from its finance division.

She assumed leadership during a turbulent time for the company. Soon after her appointment, she participated in congressional hearings about GM’s mishandling of faulty ignition switches installed in the Chevrolet Cobalt, Saturn Ion, and other vehicles, a defect linked to more than 120 fatalities. GM acknowledged its role in failing to address the issue sooner and established a compensation fund for victims.

Barra introduced a renewed focus on safety, transparency, and accountability, implementing new safety measures including a “speak up for safety” campaign to encourage employees to report unsafe practices. Barra was credited with guiding GM through what has been called the biggest safety crisis in its history.

As CEO, Barra has pushed GM toward electric, autonomous, and Internet-enabled vehicles designed to enhance navigation, safety, and diagnostics. At the same time, she has focused on improving vehicle quality and revitalizing storied nameplates. Leading with the directive of “no more crappy cars,” she spearheaded efforts to modernize the Cadillac and Buick divisions and Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The company posted record global sales and net income in 2015, just one year after Barra took over as head. She was elected chairman of the board the following year and later adopted the gender-neutral title “chair.”

General Motors acquired robotaxi company Cruise in 2016, making it a key part of its autonomous vehicle strategy. After a series of high-profile collisions, GM shut down the unit in 2024 and shifted its focus to developing autonomous technologies rather than operating a taxi service.

In 2020, Barra set a goal for GM to become the most inclusive company in the world, prioritizing a diverse workforce and launching a new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative. By 2021, the company had reached a significant milestone, with women holding a majority of seats on the board of directors and expanded opportunities for women in executive roles and skilled trades.

In 2021, under Barra’s leadership, GM became the first major U.S. automaker to set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. She spearheaded the company’s pledge to phase out production of vehicles using internal-combustion engines and transition to an all-electric lineup by 2035.

As of January 2025, GM remained committed to these goals while other automakers, including Ford Motor Company (F), Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover, have pushed back their timelines, citing moderating consumer demand for EVs and other factors.