Beyond being an incredibly respected leader of a major U.S. company, Mary is recognized as an agent of change with a relentless focus on quality, safety and, most importantly, consumers. Her ability to adapt to a changing technological and consumer-focused landscape makes her uniquely suited for the Disney board.
Barra was listed as one of the world's most powerful women by Forbes, for the fifth time, in 2016. She was most recently listed as the fifth Most Powerful Women, rising from 35th in 2013.
On May 3, 2014, she delivered the Spring Commencement address for University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus at Michigan Stadium. She received an honorary degree.
Barra was listed number one in Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2015, moving from second place the year before.
She remained in the number one spot in Fortune's Most Powerful Women of 2017 and Number 5 on Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women List in the same year.
In April 2014, Barra was featured on the cover of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World."
In December 2016, Barra joined a business forum assembled by then President-Elect Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues. However, she left the forum in 2017, following Trump's response to the Charlottesville protests.
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 the 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.
In April 2014, Barra was featured on the cover of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World."
Barra was listed number one in Fortune's Most Powerful Women list in 2015, moving from second place the year before.
In December 2016, Barra joined a Business forum assembled by then President-Elect Trump to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues. However, she left the forum in 2017, following Trump's response to the Charlottesville protests.
She remained in the number one spot in Fortune's Most Powerful Women of 2017 and Number 5 on Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women List in the same year.
