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Mary Teresa Barra was born on December 24, 1961, in Royal Oak, Michigan, United States. Her parents are of Finnish descent. Mary's grandfather, moved to the United States and lived in the small mining town of Mountain Iron, Minnesota and he had three children, including Mary’s father. When Mary was born, the family had moved to Michigan and her farther worked at the Pontiac car factory in Detroit. Although Born to a Finnish family, Mary could not speak the language fluently. Mary Barra graduated from Waterford Mott High School and later joined General Motors (now Kettering University), where she graduated in 1985 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.In 1988, General Motors Institute saw something special in Mary. She was offered a fellowship to study at Stanford Business School. In 1990 she attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business and earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from there through GM fellowship. General Motors Institute’s main goal was to develop business and industry leaders through its unique business-academe partnership. After graduating from college, she began working for General Motors. then her age was only 18. She has held various positions ranging from General Director of Internal Communications to Plant Manager. Finally, Barra was appointed CEO of GM on December 10, 2013 and she was the first female head of an automobile manufacturer in the United States.
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“What I always say is, ‘Do every job you’re in like you’re going to do it for the rest of your life, and demonstrate that ownership of it.”
Mary Barra
Mary Barra is married to Anthony Barra, an engineering consultant. The two met while they was studying at university. They live in Northville, Detroit, with their two children.
Mary was a visionary leader who always knew the company needed to make a big difference and was able to successfully turn General Motors' focus on excellence, customer and relationship. Additionally, to highlight transparency, she launched a program called "Speak Up for Safety," which encourages employees to report issues and rewards them for doing so. Mary is passionate about the process, her management style is supportive, she emphasizes the importance of teamwork and listens to everyone, she respects her colleagues. Emphasizing her goals for the company and her work and her attitude towards her employees at all levels made the brand the biggest, the best– emphasizing on quality at every level. Mary, General Motors was transformed into a corporation ready for the future of the automotive industry. Today, the company is growing at its maximum and the share price reached its highest level in October 2017.
She believes that the key to building a successful professional relationship is taking the time to get to know your colleagues, their families, and what is important to them. Mary even created a support system in the company to help women with problems in the workplace.
In 2016, Barra was listed by Forbes for the fifth time as one of the most powerful women in the world. Also, most recently she rose from 35th in 2013 to become the fifth most powerful woman.
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