Who Is Mary Teresa Barra?
Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela; born December 24, 1961) is an American business executive who has served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15, 2014. She is the first female CEO of a major global automaker from the “Big Three.” In December 2013, GM named her to succeed Daniel Akerson as CEO. Before her appointment, Barra was Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain.
Early Life
Barra was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, to parents of Finnish descent. Her grandfather, Viktor Mäkelä, moved to the United States and married Maria Luoma, a Finnish immigrant from Teuva. They lived in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, and had three children, including a son named Reino, also known as Ray. Barra’s father, Ray, married a second-generation Finnish-American named Eva Pyykkönen, and Mary was born in 1961.
Education
Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. She was inducted into the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi. She later attended Stanford Graduate School of Business on a GM fellowship and earned her MBA in 1990.
Professional Career
Barra began working at General Motors in 1980 as a co-op student at age 18. Her job involved checking fender panels and inspecting hoods, and she used this job to pay for college tuition. She later held various engineering and administrative positions, including manager of the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant.
In February 2008, she became Vice President of Global Manufacturing Engineering. In July 2009, she was promoted to Vice President of Global Human Resources, a role she held until February 2011, when she was named Executive Vice President of Global Product Development. That position included design responsibilities, and she worked to reduce the number of car platforms at GM. In August 2013, her role expanded to include Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.
When Barra took over as CEO of General Motors in January 2014, she became the first woman to lead a major car manufacturer.
During her first year as CEO, GM issued 84 safety recalls involving more than 30 million vehicles. Barra was called before the U.S. Senate to testify regarding the recalls and the deaths attributed to faulty ignition switches. Barra and GM were also suspected of funding awards to polish the image of the CEO and the company during that period. These recalls led to the implementation of new policies encouraging employees to report issues, in an effort to change the corporate culture.
As CEO, Barra led GM into the electric and autonomous vehicle space through acquisitions like Strobe, a startup focused on autonomous technology. In 2017, GM began selling the Chevy Bolt EV, beating Tesla to market with the first electric car priced under $40,000 and offering a 200-mile range.
Mary Barra Among Top CEOs
In 2017, Barra was the highest-paid executive among the Detroit Three, earning a total compensation of $21.96 million. In November 2018, she announced the closure of five North American plants and the layoff of 14,000 workers. Her decision was criticized by President Trump, who threatened to revoke federal subsidies for the company in response.
Boards and Councils
Barra has served on the board of directors of General Dynamics. She is a member of the board of the Detroit Economic Club and Detroit Country Day School. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Stanford University, the Advisory Council of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the Board of Trustees of Duke University.
In August 2017, she was elected to the board of directors of Disney. She was the twelfth person elected to the board and the fourth woman.