GM CEO Mary Barra Named Chairman of the Board of Directors

CEO Mary Barra just got a great vote of confidence from her peers on the automaker’s Board: a promotion to the added role of Chairman of the Board.

She replaces outgoing chairman Theodore Solso, who will serve as GM’s lead independent director.

In 2015 she has forcefully rejected Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s suggestion that their two companies should merge, saying GM can make it on its own.

The GM board of directors unanimously elected Ms Barra to its helm, and she will remain CEO, the largest U.S. automaker announced.

Prior to being named CEO in 2014, Barra served as executive vice president for Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain since August 2013, and as senior vice president for Global Product Development since February 2011. Barra reached a deal in March under which GM agreed to return $10 billion to shareholders in stock buybacks and increased dividends by the end of this year and commit to hitting certain financial targets, including generating a 20 per cent return on invested capital. He also said that it is sometimes better for the company to combine CEO and chairman roles, as it helps drive the company toward its vision. He will stay on as the board’s lead independent director, the company said Monday in a statement. He said the board “plans to broaden its active engagement with shareholders as we go forward”.

The investment forms part of a global outlay of $5 billion over the next few years. She returned to GM after receiving an MBA from Stanford and rapidly rose up the ranks at the company.

She began her career with GM in 1980 as a General Motors Institute co-op student and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1985.

“With the support of the board, we will continue to drive shareholder value by improving our core business and leading in the transformation of personal mobility”, Barra said in a statement. She headed midsize auto engineering and managed GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck plant.