Mary Barra

Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014.

She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker.

Mary was born in 1961.

Barra started working for General Motors in 1980 as a co-op student when she was 18 years old.

Her job was checking fender panels and inspecting hoods, and she used this job to pay for her college tuition.

She subsequently held a variety of engineering and administrative positions, including managing the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant.

Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1985, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.

Barra was inducted into the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi (MI Zeta class of 1985) and the honor society IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (Theta Epsilon chapter 1983) while at Kettering University.

She then attended Stanford Graduate School of Business on a GM fellowship, receiving a Master of Business Administration degree in 1990.

In February 2008, she became vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering.

In July 2009, she advanced to the position of vice president of Global Human Resources, which she held until February 2011 when she was named executive vice president of Global Product Development.

The latter position included responsibilities for design; she worked to reduce the number of automobile platforms in GM.

She was the 12th person elected to this board, and the fourth woman.

In March 2022 she was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

In December 2013, GM named her to succeed Daniel Akerson as CEO.

Prior to being named CEO, Barra was executive vice president of global product development, purchasing, and supply chain.

Barra was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, to parents of Finnish descent.

Her grandfather, Viktor Mäkelä, moved to the US and married Maria Luoma, a Finnish immigrant from Teuva.

They lived in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, and had three children, including a son named Reino, called Ray.

Barra's father, Ray, married a second-generation Finnish American named Eva Pyykkönen.

In August 2013, her vice president responsibility was extended to include Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

Barra was listed as 35th on Forbes Most Powerful Women list in 2013, rising in rank to fourth most powerful in 2018.

When Barra took over as chief executive of General Motors in January 2014, she became the first female head of an automobile manufacturer.

During her first year as CEO, General Motors issued 84 safety recalls involving over 30 million cars.

Barra was called before the Senate to testify about the recalls and deaths attributed to the faulty ignition switch.

Barra and General Motors also came under suspicion of paying for awards to burnish the CEO and corporation's image during that time.

The recalls led to the creation of new policies encouraging workers to report problems they encounter in an attempt to change company culture.

As CEO, Barra directed GM's move into driverless and electric-powered cars through acquisitions including Strobe, a startup in driverless technology.

In May 2014, she delivered the commencement address for University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus at Michigan Stadium, and received an honorary degree.

Barra was ranked first in Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2015, up from second the year before.

In 2017, Barra was the highest paid Detroit Three executive, with a total remuneration of $21.96 million.

In August 2017, she was elected to the board of Disney.

She remained in the number one spot in Fortune's Most Powerful Women of 2017 and Number 5 on Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women List in the same year.

In November 2018, Barra announced the closure of five North American plants and 14,000 worker layoffs.

Her decision was criticized by President Donald Trump, who threatened to remove the company's government subsidies in response.

In response to a shareholder question in June 2022 question about reinstating dividends at GM, Barra said the company has a "clear priority" to "accelerate our EV plans" and to solely offer EVs by 2035.

Barra was a member of the General Dynamics board of directors.

She serves on the board of directors of the Detroit Economic Club and Detroit Country Day School.

She is a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, and the Duke University Board of Trustees.

In 2018, she received an honorary doctorate from Duke University and in 2022 she delivered the school's commencement address.