Mary Barra American businesswoman Country: USA

Biography of Mary Barra

Mary Barra is an American businesswoman and the vice president of the International Operations of General Motors. She was ranked 41st on Forbes' list of the most powerful women in the world in August 2012. Mary has had a strong connection to General Motors for most of her life. She grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, where her father worked as a tool and die maker at Pontiac. Her first car was a practical and convenient Chevy Chevette.

Mary received her education at the General Motors Institute, now known as Kettering University. Under the terms of a contract, the company paid for her education, and in return, she worked for the company for half of each year. At the age of 18, Mary started working at the Pontiac plant. During an inspection at the plant, she noticed the signs of the problems that would lead General Motors to bankruptcy in 2009.

In 1985, Mary graduated from university with a degree in electrical engineering and married Tony Barra, an engineering consultant. She began working at the Pontiac Fiero plant, where she quickly caught the attention of Tim Lee, the plant's manager at the time. Lee recognized Mary's potential and soon she won a special scholarship from the company to study business management at the Stanford Business School. By the time she completed her studies, Mary was one of the top 10% of students.

After Stanford, Mary became the head of production planning at General Motors, where she met another talented young professional, Mark Reuss. Together, they launched the new generation of Cadillac De Ville, which turned out to be their last project.

In 1996, Mary became an assistant to the CEO, Jack Smith, and vice president, Harry Pearce, for three years. Following their advice, Mary spent some time studying internal communications within the company and had to deal with a difficult strike. In 2003, Mary was sent to the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, which had struggled with automation for a long time. Under her leadership, the plant saw significant improvements in product quality, safety, and the launch of two new car brands.

In 2009, General Motors declared bankruptcy, and Fritz Henderson, the CEO at the time, moved Mary from the industrial department to human resources. Many saw this decision as less than ideal, but the company desperately needed new talent. In January 2011, the new CEO, Dan Akerson, announced that Mary would become the vice president of the Global Product Development group. Despite initial doubts about her experience in this field, Mary proved her capabilities and became one of the key players in Akerson's new project.

Under Mary's leadership, the outdated manufacturing system was replaced with a more efficient one. She currently oversees more than 29,000 employees on five continents and manages a budget of $15 billion. In her first year, Mary faced numerous challenges, but she has been able to handle them brilliantly.