Mary Barra — CEO, General Motors

**Mary Teresa Barra** is the Chairman and CEO of General Motors, the first woman to lead a major global automaker. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan (a Detroit suburb), she is the daughter of a GM die maker — the auto industry is literally in her blood. She earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Kettering University (formerly GMI Engineering & Management Institute, a GM-affiliated school) and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. She started working at GM at age 18 as a co-op student checking fender panels and hood fits.