General Motors chief executive Mary Barra was named chair of the automaker, smashing yet another gender ceiling in the US auto industry.
The GM board of directors unanimously elected Barra to its helm
yesterday, and she will remain CEO, the largest US automaker announced.
Mary Barra(54) will succeed Tim Solso, who will continue to serve as the board’s lead independent director.
“At a time of unprecedented industry change, the board concluded it is
in the best interests of the company to combine the roles of chair and
CEO in order to drive the most efficient execution of our plan and
vision for the future,” Solso said in a statement.
Mary Barra, a GM career veteran, became chief executive on January 15, 2014, the first female CEO of any major automaker.
At the time, feminists criticised that she was not also made chair, as had been customary for her male predecessors.
In the month after becoming CEO, Barra was handling a recall of 2.6
million cars for defective ignition switches that grew into a massive
scandal as it emerged the company knew about the deadly defects nearly a
decade earlier
Under Mary Barra’s management, GM has made large strides in raising its
operating margins in North America, to 11 per cent in the third quarter
of 2015, a strong performance in the auto industry.
“I am honoured to serve as chair of the board of directors,” Barra said
in the statement. “With the support of our board, we will continue to
drive shareholder value by improving our core business and leading in
the transformation of personal mobility.”
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