Marry Barra was born on 24th December 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan. Mary’s grandfather Viktor Makela had moved to the USA and married Maria Luoma. Her father, Ray, was married to a Finnish American woman, “Eva Pyykkonen.” Mary went to the Waterford Schools in Michigan, and then she graduated from Waterford Mott High School.
Barra had joined General Motors as a co-op student in 1980 when she was only 18 years old. She used to inspect hoods and check fender panels to earn money for her collegeeducation. She held many administrative and engineering positions in General Motors during her career.
She became vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering in February 2008. Mary became vice president of Global Human Resources in July 2009, and then she became executive vice president of Global Product Development in 2001. Mary became the chief executive of General Motors at the beginning of 2014. Her services as the CEO of General Motors played a crucial role in making this company more successful worldwide. She was also elected to the board of Disney in 2017, and she is the fourth woman to be elected to the board of Disney.
Listen in as we chat with GM CEO Mary Barra | 2017 Detroit Auto Show
Mary met Tony Barra (her husband) during her college days at Kettering University. He is a consultant. They have two children, along with two dogs. Mary and her husband live in Northville, Detroit. Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro are Mary’s favorite cars, and she can also speak Finnish.
Forbes listed Mary as 35th Forbes Most Powerful Women in 2013, and she was ranked second on the Forbes Most Powerful Women list in 2018. She was chosen for delivering the commencement address for the University of Michigan in May 2014. Barra has also received a Doctorate from Duke University in 2018.
She was listed first as Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in 2015, and her position remained the same until 2017. Mary has been honored several times in her career. The most significant event occurred in her life when she joined a business forum assembled by Donald Trump, “The US President.” She was awarded the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute’s Legend in Leadership Award in 2018.
Marry Barra currently holds the position of Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer in the General Motors Company. She is also Disney’s board member and a member of the Board of trustees at Stanford University.
Mary Barra has completed a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University (a General Motor Institute). She later studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business after receiving a fellowship from General Motors. She completed her Masters's in Business Administration degree in 1990 from Stanford University.
Anthony E. Barra is also known as Tony Barra. He is the proud husband of Mary Barra. They were both met in the General Motors Institute, and they got married shortly after studying together. Tony is an engineering consultant. Currently, Tony is serving as an Affiliate Partner at POCO Labs, LLC. He has also served as president of Filament Consulting. Tony is a successful businessman and enjoying a happy married life since 1985.
Barra was born in a Finnish American family. Her grandfather had moved to the USA and married another Finnish immigrant. Reino was Mary’s father, which was also known as Ray. Her father and mother both had Finnish descent, and her father worked at the Pontiac car factory for 39 years in Detroit. Her mother was a housewife.
Laura Colby, a renowned author, has written Road to Power: How GM’s Mary Barra Shattered the Glass Ceiling book on Mary Barra’s life. This book reveals Mary’s journey from the GM factory’s floor to the highest position in the company.
Mary became the CEO of General Motors in January 2014. It was the first time any woman became the head of an automobile manufacturing company. General Motors had sold over 30 a million cars in her first year as the CEO, and this company had issued 84 safety recalls. Mary’s idea was that GM should move into driverless car space, and GM acquired Strobe, a startup focused on developing technology for driverless cars. General Motors had beaten Tesla Motors under Mary’s leadership in developing the first electric car Chevy Bolt EV, which is priced under $40,000. This car’s range is 200 miles on one charge. Mary was the highest-paid Detroit Three executive in 2017, but experts criticize her for closing five North American plants and lay off 14,000 workers in 2018.
Mary has faced many challenges during her career as the CEO and Chairwoman of General Motors. 2009’s bankruptcy was the darkest time in the company’s history. Developing new technologies for electric and driverless cars is a big challenge this company is facing now. Currently, the biggest challenge GM facing is removing about 18,000 salaried employees from five North American plants. Finding a new market for General Motors is also a big challenge for Mary.
Mary Barra has been working for General Motors since her school days. She worked as a co-op student in 1980, and then she became vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering in the same company. She has also served as vice president of Global Human Resource, vice president of Global Product Development; she worked on automobile design and reduced General Motor’s automobile platforms.
Mary Barra is an American Businesswoman who was born in 1961. She is the CEO of General Motors, and this position makes her the first female CEO of a major automaker. Ms. Barra has also served on the board for Disney and Stanford University. Barra is the highest-paid auto-CEO in the world, and she earns $2.1 million in base salary. She is also paid incentive-based company bonuses in the form of stock awards, paid travel, and security costs. These give her base salary a significant boost. In 2019, she took home more than $20 million in compensation.
Mary Barra's net worth is estimated to be around $60 million.
Mary took the challenge of developing the most cost-effective electric car and pushed General Motors to develop the Chevy Bolt EV. She received a payment of $21.96 million in 2017.
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