Mary Barra

Early life

Barra was born in 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan, to parents of Finnish descent. Her grandfather, Viktor Mäkelä, moved to the United States and married Maria Saarinen, a Finnish immigrant from Teuva. They lived in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, and had two children, including a son. Reino Päiviö "Ray" Mäkelä (1915–2006) married Eva Elizabeth Pyykkönen (1923–2004) in 1959, and Mary Teresa Mäkelä was their second child. Her father worked for 39 years as a tool and die maker at GM's Pontiac Motor Division. Her mother was a passionate advocate for higher education for both their son, Paul, and daughter.

Education

Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) in 1985, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Barra was inducted into the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi (MI Zeta class of 1985) and the honor society IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (Theta Epsilon chapter 1983) while at Kettering University. She then attended Stanford Graduate School of Business on a GM fellowship, receiving a Master of Business Administration degree in 1990.

General Motors

Barra started working for General Motors in 1980 as a co-op student when she was 18 years old. Her job was checking fender panels and inspecting hoods, and she used this job to pay for her college tuition. She subsequently held a variety of engineering and administrative positions, including managing the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant.

In February 2008, she became vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering. In July 2009, she advanced to the position of vice president of Global Human Resources, which she held until February 2011 when she was named executive vice president of Global Product Development. The latter position included responsibilities for design; she worked to reduce the number of automobile platforms in GM. In August 2013, her vice president responsibility was extended to include Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

When Barra took over as chief executive of General Motors in January 2014, she became the first female head of an automobile manufacturer.

During her first year as CEO, General Motors issued 84 safety recalls involving over 30 million cars. Barra was called before the Senate to testify about the recalls and deaths attributed to the faulty ignition switch. Barra and General Motors also came under suspicion of paying for awards to burnish the CEO and corporation's image during that time. The recalls led to the creation of new policies encouraging workers to report problems they encounter in an attempt to change company culture.

As CEO, Barra directed GM's move into driverless and electric-powered cars through acquisitions including Strobe, a startup in driverless technology.

In 2017, Barra was the highest-paid Detroit Three executive, with a total remuneration of $21.96 million. In November 2018, Barra announced the closure of five North American plants and 14,000 worker layoffs. Her decision was criticized by President Donald Trump, who threatened to remove the company's government subsidies in response.

Barra is married to consultant Tony Barra, whom she met while studying at Kettering University, and has two children.