Mary Barra

Mary Barra
Barra in Mexico, August 2014
Born	Mary Teresa Makela (1961-12-24) December 24, 1961 (age 55) Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Kettering University Stanford University
Employer	General Motors Company
Board member of	3; General Dynamics, Stanford University Board of Trustees,Kettering University Board of Trustees
Spouse(s)	Anthony E. Barra
Children	2
Website	Website

Mary Teresa Barra (née Makela, born December 24, 1961) is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the General Motors Company. She has held the CEO position since January 15, 2014, and she is the first female CEO of a major global automaker. On December 10, 2013, GM named her to succeed Dan Akerson as Chief Executive Officer, and prior to that, Barra served as the Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain at General Motors.

In April 2014, Barra was featured on the cover of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World."

Barra's father, Ray Makela, worked as a die maker at Pontiac for 39 years. Mary attended Waterford schools in Waterford, Michigan. She is a graduate of Waterford Mott High School.

Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute (now Kettering University), where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. She then attended Stanford Graduate School of Business on a GM fellowship, receiving her Masters in Business Administration degree in 1990.

Barra started working for General Motors at the age of 18 as a co-op student in 1980 and subsequently held a variety of engineering and administrative positions, including being manager of 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 has 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.