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.

In December 2013, GM named her to succeed Daniel Akerson as CEO. Her grandfather, Viktor Mäkelä, moved to the United States and married Maria Saarinen, a Finnish immigrant from Teuva. They lived in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, and had two children, including a son named Reino, called Ray, Barra's father, who married a second-generation Finnish American named Eva Pyykkönen, her mother.

Education 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. 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.

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.

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 2017, Barra was the highest-paid Detroit Three executive, with a total remuneration of $21.96 million. 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. 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 August 2017, she was elected to the board of Disney. 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.

Awards

Barra was honored at the 2023 Arthur W. Page Center Awards where she received a Larry Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication.

Barra was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in February 2018. In September 2018, Barra was awarded the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute's Legend in Leadership Award. Personal life

Barra is married to consultant Tony Barra, whom she met while studying at Kettering University, and has two children.