After more than 40 years with General Motors – and a decade at the helm of the company as CEO – Mary Barra has topped the Fortune Most Powerful Women list, out today. One hundred women from around the world are on the list.
According to Fortune, Barra nabbed the top spot in part because she “has returned the automaker to its strongest financial position in decades.”
Barra was just 19 when she began her career at GM in 1980. In a recent interview with the “9 to 5ish” podcast from The Skimm, she shared memories of growing up as a “nerdy kid” in Southeast Michigan, where her father also worked at GM.
She did well in school and loved math, which led her to study engineering at the General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, according to her Automotive Hall of Fame profile. At first, she worked inspecting fenders and hoods in the Pontiac Motor Division. When Barra graduated, she began working with Pontiac as a Senior Engineer.
Then, GM offered Barra a fellowship to earn a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University. Once she completed graduate school, Barra was back at GM, where she rose through the ranks. Her titles have included manager of manufacturing planning, executive assistant to the chairman, director of internal communications, and plant manager.
In 2004, she became GM’s executive director of vehicle manufacturing engineering. In that role, Barra integrated six independent groups into one operation in order to streamline product development. She also served as vice president of global human resources for two years and in 2011 led the global product development division.
“Barra assumed the role of CEO of General Motors in 2014 and has established a reputation as one of the industry’s most respected chief executives,” said the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Barra was the first woman to become a CEO in the automotive industry.
“She faced and overcame several major challenges in her early years as GM’s CEO. Soon after her appointment, Barra navigated GM through a crisis when the company came under fire for a faulty ignition switch that led to over 100 deaths,” the hall of fame continued. “To address concerns over safety, she implemented new policies to empower employees to report problems and focused on transparency. In addition, Barra led the company—which had faced bankruptcy only a few years before—to achieve record global sales and net income in 2015.”
Barra explained to “9 to 5ish” that she has always loved making things and was drawn to positions in the manufacturing plants. Her problem-solving attitude has helped the company tackle challenges over the years.
For example, GM pivoted to making ventilators for COVID-19 patients within 30 days of the start of the pandemic.
Last year, Fortune ranked Barra as the second most powerful business woman in the country. This year, the 27th year that Fortune has been publishing the list, CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch was bumped to the second spot. Overall, women from 14 industries are represented on the list, with finance and tech at the top. While women on the list come from 18 countries, 54% are from North America.
Other interesting things Barra revealed to “9 to 5-sih” include: her first car (a red Chevrolet Chevette) her status as a Swiftie (she’s a big fan of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” and “The Manuscript” and likes to play Spotify playlists her kids make when she’s driving), that she was binge-watching “Ted Lasso” with her husband, that her mother was her “biggest cheerleader” and that her father and brother taught her to drive.
“We play a really important role in people’s lives,” Barra said when asked why she’s been so happy sticking with GM.