Mary Barra leads a big car company. She helps make cars for us. She worked with cars when she was young. Now she is a very powerful leader. She wants to make cars that run on power from a plug. Do you like cars?
Mary Barra is a big leader for a car company.
She started her job when she was eighteen. She checked car parts to pay for school. She studied how to build things.
Now, she is the first woman to lead a very large car maker. She wants to make cars that use power from a plug.
She also wants to make cars that can drive themselves.
She is one of the most powerful women in business. She works hard to lead her company well.
Mary Barra is a leader for General Motors. She is the first woman to lead a big car maker.
Mary was born in 1961 in Michigan. She started working at General Motors when she was 18. Her first job was checking car parts. She used that money to pay for college. She studied electrical engineering. Later, she earned a master's degree from Stanford.
Mary has held many jobs at the company. She worked in manufacturing and human resources. She also worked on product development. This means she helped with car design. In 2014, she became the CEO. A CEO is the top leader of a company.
Now, Mary leads the way for new cars. She wants to make electric cars. These cars use power from a plug. She also wants to make driverless cars. These are cars that can drive themselves.
Many groups name Mary as a powerful leader. Forbes and Fortune have put her on many lists. She is a member of the board at Disney too. She also helps the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Mary Barra is a very important leader in the world of cars. She is the chair and CEO of General Motors. This means she is the top boss for the whole company.
She made history as the first woman to lead a "Big Three" automaker. This is a special group of huge car companies. Being a leader like this requires a lot of hard work and smart choices. Her work helps decide what kind of cars people will drive in the future.
Mary's path to the top started with very simple jobs. When she was 18, she worked at General Motors as a student.
Her job was to check fender panels and inspect hoods. She used the money she earned to pay for her college classes. After that, she moved through many different roles. She managed a large assembly plant in Detroit and Hamtramck. Later, she worked in human resources and helped with product development. In that role, she worked to reduce the number of different car platforms.
Mary has been a part of the company for a long time. She was born in 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Her family has roots in Finland. She graduated from the General Motors Institute in 1985. She earned a degree in electrical engineering there. She also joined special honor societies for engineering students. Later, she went to the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree in 1990.
Since becoming CEO in January 2014, Mary has faced big tasks.
During her first year, the company had to recall over 30 million cars for safety reasons. She had to talk to the Senate about these issues. Now, she is leading the company toward new technology. She wants General Motors to offer only electric vehicles by the year 2035. She is also working on driverless cars by buying companies like Strobe. These are cars that can drive without a person steering them.
Many famous groups think Mary is a great leader.
Forbes and Fortune have put her on many lists of powerful women. In 2015, she was the number one most powerful woman on Fortune's list. She also sits on the board of directors for Disney. This means she helps make big decisions for that famous company too. She even helps the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Her life shows how starting with small jobs can lead to big things.
Mary Teresa Barra is a prominent American businesswoman. She serves as the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors. The CEO is the highest-ranking person in a company. Barra has held this role since January 15, 2014. She made history by becoming the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. The 'Big Three' refers to the largest car manufacturers in the United States. Her leadership involves making major decisions about technology, manufacturing, and the future of transportation.
Barra's career at General Motors began with very hands-on work. In 1980, she started as an 18-year-old co-op student. Her early tasks included inspecting hoods and checking fender panels. She used the money from this job to pay for her college tuition. Over the years, she moved through many specialized roles. She managed the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant. In 2008, she became the vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering. Later, she served as the vice president of Global Human Resources. By 2011, she was the executive vice president of Global Product Development. In this role, she worked to reduce the number of different automobile platforms used by the company.
Her journey to the top was supported by a strong technical education. Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute in 1985. This school is now known as Kettering University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. During her studies, she was inducted into two honor societies. These were Tau Beta Pi and IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu. She later attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business on a GM fellowship. There, she earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1990. This combination of engineering and business training prepared her for executive leadership.
Leading a massive corporation brings significant challenges and responsibilities. When Barra became CEO in 2014, she faced immediate safety issues. During her first year, General Motors issued 84 safety recalls. These recalls involved more than 30 million vehicles. The recalls were related to a faulty ignition switch. This issue led to deaths and required Barra to testify before the Senate. To address these problems, she helped create new company policies. These policies encouraged workers to report problems to improve the company culture.
Barra is currently guiding General Motors through a major technological shift. She is directing the company toward electric-powered cars and driverless technology. To help with this, GM acquired Strobe, a startup focused on driverless technology. Barra has set a very specific goal for the company's future. She stated that GM has a priority to accelerate its electric vehicle (EV) plans. Her goal is for the company to offer only electric vehicles by 2035. This transition represents a complete change in how the company builds and sells cars.
Because of her influence, Barra has received many prestigious honors. In 2014, she appeared on the cover of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World." She has been ranked highly on several power lists. In 2015, she was the number one most powerful woman on Fortune's list. Forbes has also ranked her highly, including being the ninth most powerful woman in the world in 2023. In 2024, Fortune named her the most powerful woman in business. She has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
Barra's leadership extends beyond General Motors to many other organizations. She sits on the board of directors for Disney. She was the 12th person elected to that board and the fourth woman. She also serves on the boards of the Detroit Economic Club and Detroit Country Day School. Additionally, she is a member of the boards of trustees for both Stanford University and Duke University. In 2022, she was appointed to the Homeland Security Advisory Council. These roles show how her expertise is used to guide many different types of institutions.
Where will your curiosity go next?
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.