Mary Teresa Barra is an American businesswoman and the first female Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the US-based automobile manufacturer General Motors since January 15, 2014.
Following her appointment, Barra earned was ranked in the TIME’s '100 Most Influential People in the World' list of 2014 and was positioned first in the Fortune’s 'Most Powerful Women' list in 2015.
Early life
Mary Barra is of Finnish descent and was born on December 24, 1961, in Michigan, United States. Barra is married to an engineering consultant Anthony Barra. The couple has two children -- Rachel and Nicholas Barra.
Her brother Paul Makela serves as the Director of Gynecological Robotic Surgery in St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
Education and career
Mary Barra attended the Waterford Mott High School. She graduated from the Waterford Mott High School and then enrolled at Kettering University in 1985 to receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
At the age of 18, she started her career in the 1980s at General Motors Institute as a plant engineer at the Pontiac Motor Division in Flint, Michigan, where her father Ray Makela also worked for Pontiac for almost 40 years.
With a scholarship from GM, she later did an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) in 1990. She has also been a part of the oldest engineering honour society - Tau Beta Pi.
Barra, who has decades-long experience at GM, previously served as the Vice President of Detroit Hamtramck Assembly's Global Human Resources and Global Manufacturing Engineering segments.
Before becoming the GM's CEO, Barra was the GM's executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain since August 2013, and served as the senior vice president, Global Product Development since February 2011.
She, along with her teams, spearheaded the design, engineering and quality of GM vehicle launches around the world.
Mary Barra is also part of the Board of Directors of the Detroit Economic Club and Stanford University Board of Trustees. Barra was elected to the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company as well.
