Categories: U.S. Investing

GM’s Mary Barra to Become Company’s First Female CEO

Frédéric BISSON, CC BY 2.0

GM’s Mary Barra to Become Company’s First Female CEO (Detroit Free Press)

General Motors (GM) became the first major auto maker to name a woman as its CEO with today’s announcement that Senior Vice President for Product Development Mary Barra will succeed current CEO Dan Akerson when he retires. Barra, 51, is a GM insider who joined the company in 1980 and handled a wide variety of posts. She will emerge as one of the world’s most powerful and visible business leaders. Akerson, 65, moved up his timeline to retire by several months after discovering that his wife, Karin, has advanced stage cancer. He intends to step down Jan. 15. “With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today’s GM,” Barra said in a statement. “I’m honored to lead the best team in the business.” Barra was viewed as one of four potential successors for Akerson, along with GM North America President Mark Reuss, GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky and GM Chief Financial Officer Daniel Ammann. With her appointment, Ammann will become president of GM with responsibility for the company’s regional operations worldwide and Reuss will be slotted into Barra’s product development job. Alan Batey, GM’s global Chevrolet leader, will take Reuss’ post as president of GM North America, while Girsky is stepping down as vice chairman with oversight of the GM’s European turnaround, but he will remain on the board of directors. The announcement took place one day after the federal government disclosed it sold its last remaining shares of GM stock, which is down slightly with the overall market today.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.