General Motors CEO Mary Barra has been featured on the cover of the winter 2019 edition of WomenInc. Magazine.
This year’s final edition of the women’s magazine identifies those women who have had the most influence on the corporate world in 2019. Barra, the only female CEO in the automotive industry, grabs the cover story for the edition, with WomenInc. saying the 57-year old has “had one of the most impactful leadership roles in the automotive industry as CEO of General Motors Company (GM),” and is “driving innovation, inclusiveness and women advancement within GM.”
Barra was named CEO of GM in January of 2014, succeeding Dan Akerson in the position. Prior to her promotion, Barra served as GM’s executive vice president of Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain. Since her appointment, she has shifted GM’s focus toward technological advancement and innovation, helping to implement the automaker’s current “Vision Zero” initiative – which calls for the automotive industry to work toward zero road deaths, zero traffic congestion and zero vehicle emissions. GM hopes to promote and implement its Vision Zero cause by introducing more electric vehicles and fully autonomous vehicles in the coming years.
Along with her GM role, Barra also serves on the Disney board of directors, which she first joined in 2017, and served on the board of the General Dynamics Corporation from 2011 through to 2017.
In addition to the in-depth profile of Barra, WomenInc. says the latest issue of the magazine “features a directory of more than 700 directors serving on the boards of S&P 1000/Mid-Cap publicly held companies,” which is described as “the most comprehensive listing of women executives, influencers and achievers contributing leadership to corporate boards,” available right now.
“It is essential that the achievements and success of professional women are showcased in the highest regard and their stories are told in meaningful ways,” said WomenInc. communications officer, Catrina Young. “WomenInc. is proud to recognize this distinguished group of women serving on public boards.”
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Comments
Terrible pic of an average at best CEO. She’d be great as the CEO of a toothpaste or refrigerator company but she is slowly ruining GM.
She is OLD GM through and through. GM needed new blood as the CEO, not another lifer. GM turned around post-bailout by not relying on people like Mary. Ever since she took the roll of CEO, they’ve been slowly slipping back to their old cost cutting ways!
I agree. I don’t see how someone that is doing nothing but shrinking a company, retreating from entire markets, and from vehicle segments can be considered a success. A successful leader is usually growing a company and expanding it. Ms. Barra appears to be an old school GM lifer that thinks they can shrink GM to profitability and success. She is also taking an ax to so much of GM to fund her Zero, Zero, Zero plan that is an complete unknown at this point. It could prove her to be a prescient leader. It may also never bear fruit at all or, more likely, it could be a wholesale shift that occurs before the market and infrastructure are ready for it. No matter what happens, at this juncture, I wouldn’t judge her to be a success.
When you keep shrinking a company, you are loosing very important economies of scale. There are reasons why automakers are forming alliances and merging.
In regards to the old GM, under the glorious Roger Smith and his successor era, GM has always been 3-4 years behind the times. GM is diving full blast into autonomous cars just as the hype is cooling and the realization setting in that AVs will not be perfected for decades if ever.
If Mary Barra was a man, she would have been fired possibly 5 years ago as it’s one mistake after another and yet she’s still there costing the company $Billions with each major mistake she continues to make.
I am a woman. So that means I am smart. That means I cannot be questioned or criticized. She should have been fired looong ago – simply for allowing Cadillac to turn into the turd it is today.
Guess as long as stock stays up, she stays? Has nothing to do with cars and trucks. Stocks is all that matters…….To Board.
Make that short-term stock prices. If GM looses any more market share and/or loses money, Wall Street will drop GM like a hot potato.
That’s a terrible picture of her. Obviously a Gen X’r person who doesn’t like cars probably OK’d this pic to make her look bad.
We car nuts who care, should contact the top 20 largest shareholders of GM stock and tell them to boot her butt to the curb. GM made a huge mistake by closing the Oshawa, Ontario car and truck assembly plant because with free health care for every Canadian, GM was saving about $4,000 for each worker. Also the U.s dollar is worth $1.32 in Canada funds over the past few months, meaning that’s another huge savings in labour costs. Trump just signed the new NAFTA, now USMCA, which means that 73 percent of the vehicle costs for both parts and labour must meet minimum average standards of about $14 an hour, or the Trump imposed new excise tax on Mexico built vehicles means that GM must now pay a huge 25 percent tariff on many vehicles made in Mexico that are imported into the USA. Too bad that NOBODY at GM HQ bothered to read the USMCA agreement, to know that they just screwed themselves by shutting down the GM truck assembly plant. to turn it into a stamping plant.
Imagine the outcry if we had a similar magazine just for men whom make up the important industries.
Well, fire Bill Ford JR for cutting the carline right after FCA cut some of is cars and being a dollar late to the EV/autonomous game all while having a sub $10 stock price….
Some one gets it plus one!
Well she did all the things that should have been done ones the last 50 years.
GM had too many divisions, too many plants, too much capacity and it all needed to be right sized. GM lost most of their markets long before she came in.
Fully how it took some one without a pair to do the tough things that those who had a pair would not do.
She has picked up the pieces left after the bail out and made them more profitable.
While others like FCA and Ford Re looking for partners to merge or join GM is still strong and independent. In fact they are positioned to sell technology to others. Anyone notice the Mach E was testing at GM?
She came in after the bail out and was face with the ignition issue. Not only was it faced but GM got through it fairly well financially and image wise as it is nearly forgotten by most.
In today’s market it is not key to make as many vehicles as possible and flood a market. Today companies need to focus on ROI and max profit per vehicle. The automotive market is slowing and will contract. If you are relying on volume products you will in the end fail.
GM has focused on profits and technology and both should serve them well in the future. GM is built for the future not short term profits to make them attractive to another mfg to merge with.
Just look at FCA how they dumped tons of product on dealers they did not want to clean up the books and inventory for the PSA merger. Odds are they will only see Jeep and Ram survive.
It was so bad a report was out that Ram had no mid size truck as they did not have the money. Speculation is PSA will pay for it.
In the end many PSA and FCA plants will see closure as they have too much capacity.
Generally if everyone is not pissed at you being CEO odds are you are not doing the complete job and passing the problems on ala Roger Smith.
Mary has made some mistakes like Cadillac but she has gotten more right than wrong. At least she did not start Saturn and fail to grow them.
You’re out of your mind. She didn’t earn the seat she was given it but the Obuttocks. admin. She is a lifer as well and has no clue about anything other than GM, oh and her fatness a lifer… some other door knob mentioned Roger Smith and much of what he did moved the needle but the company’s legacy costs were crippling its future. Suppose you get your history from Michael Moore movies?
Rick Waggoner was a great CEO as he established GM China which keeps the company alive currently.
MB: driving innovation, inclusiveness and women advancement within GM.” – that’s not what GM is in business to do. She’s a train wreck and the company is likely going to be acquired by the Chinese or merge. The company is neither healthier nor better positioned since she was given her position.
“Red Ink Rick” was so great he was fired? , “Obuttocks” didn’t hire Barra nor wasn’t in office when GM ran out of cash. What other “information” is out there against MB?.
Where you been the moon? ObuttFace fired Rick. A nothing community organizer fires the CEO of GM. Actually not unlike “Quid Pro Joe” GM was essentially told RW was to go in exchange for the bailout… Ran out of $$ because of legacy costs to pay UAW employees, job banks, 97% of healthcare costs, pensions, etc… truth hurts huh?
Keep watching CNN and drinking your Black Label…
Oh-oh another Reich Winger ( both parties suck btw). Rickey Tickey was fired for his incompetentce over the years way before Obama got in, also he went infront of the Auto Task Force just to ask for more money that Bush handed initially without a proper business plan, he dug his grave. You’d think the Ex Boeing CEO would learn from BK-GM not to tell the US Government one thing and show another.
GM ran out of cash as said “of legacy costs to pay UAW employees, job banks, 97% of healthcare costs, pensions, etc” but yet GM didn’t do enough to stop the bleeding, Ford mortgaged everything to prevent a BK during a downturn.
I don’t get this male infatuation of GM needs to be run by a man 24/7 when a men screwed it up. Will the next CEO be a man?, yes but it’s no reason to rid MB as CEO when GM is profitable.
You’re an idiot and typical dick weed liberal. You’re simply wrong!
Nothing I said is incorrect. Bush secured the money for the co to allocate. Bankruptcy was not lawful but a Frankenstein where UAW was paid off to buy votes but shareholders /investors/ owners of GM were screwed.
As for men please submit a list of women who built America… then stfu….
Wow, full name calling on Xmas with nothing to back up your BS you’re spilling, class act right here… And even more stupid is because someone disagree with one view automatically makes someone “liberal”?.
So you’d love to see GM just busted up and sold the the Chinese?, Rickey still would been displaced as CEO. It’s funny Bob Nardelli didn’t get fired at Chrysler. Bush just passed the buck along especially when the credit market froze up and GM couldn’t get money, again lack of vision on GMs management thinking they’ll get a blank check like the banks did at the time.
I’d would submit a list of men who made America and slick Rick and (since you hard-up for NeoCon garbage) Rupart Murdock isn’t on it, now make yourself useful and make sure the return-after-Christmas day crowd don’t run-over other shoppers at your shift at Walmart buddy….
hey Trash, you don’t know me, you dont know a thing so shove your “neo-con” crap, “communist”. I’d happily be a pro American than a commie like you.
You’re a toad and wrong. What I would really like for Christmas is for GM to be like GM of the 60’s with fantastic new products that hit every mark. (Not “stuck in the 60’s” but an industrial juggernaut with fabulous cars that flourish in the market) You think they’re even a shadow of that now? Are they any closer to real greatness again… Does Cadillac make cars that people “gotta have”… does the CT6 deserve to be continuously refined, a new interior, better pricing? Is GM REALLY on the right track? If you think so perhaps you should go play with your friends and get off your moms computer…. I think she’s calling you now for dinner?
Nardelli was the 2nd worst thing… he was the first while at Home Depot. He fancied himself as Jack Welch on turbo chargers but he wrecked nearly everything. Especially when Tom LaSorda had been there (whom I know).
Anyhow you can enjoy your trash talking, GM is in bad shape and nothing you say will fix them, especially MB. I met her when she was VPHR and I know her connection to the company, its genuine, its real… its not working and if she were a “man” she’d have been fire long ago. When Alan Mullaly took over at Ford he stepped in front of Mark Fields who had been heir apparent for a very long time and is best friends with Bill Ford. That said MF was fired after what a year because he and his plan were failing. Its not personal, its business and business was failing…
For MB the insane mixed messages coming from Cadillac, the strike and what was not achieved from that are 2 really good reasons. Retracting from markets globally, selling European Operations (then PSA makes a profit the first year of ownership clearly shows GM mgt is sub par) Is she smart, yes, shes smarter than me, and we all know she’s smarter than you, but she isn’t getting the job done…. its not about “diversity” or “inclusion” its about business. Its about business that affects 10’s of thousands of people and the MB experiment needs to end, for their sakes.
Lol whatever you say Republicnt, they can’t even except independent views (note he now writes a full novel about his mis-infomation and he minstrel on with insults).
Again if you in-front and center at a GM board what can you say to convince them for MBs dismissal (mind ya she haven’t had a bad quarter like your boyfriend Redboy Rick also got GM out the Ignition Switch Debacle ).
You so knowledgeable about the car industry get into it, but in the meantime go break-up a fight at your Walmart over the last $5.00 pair of Polo jeans…
“some other door knob mentioned Roger Smith and much of what he did moved the needle but the company’s legacy costs were crippling its future. Suppose you get your history from Michael Moore movies?”
The legacy costs under Roger Smith had nothing to do with his “accomplishments” of cookie-cutter cars, new factories that had robots painting each other, the destruction of cash cow vehicles like the luxury E/K cars of 1986, the Saturn division, consolidating divisions, and the GM 10 disaster. The poison tree of which GM is still gathering fruit from was firmly planted in his tenure.
id Have to agree the 80’s were not good for GM… is it RS’s fault… he was CEO so it was his party… still MB is not the right person to grow GM it’s continues to shrink in market share, global foot print, vehicle segments, IMO “quality and value” … she is simply in over her head … and she was installed by Barry Soetoro…
Barra is the Roger rabbit Smith of GM and should stick to what she knows- Disney!