Cars have always been more than a mode of transport for Mary Barra. Growing up in Detroit, where her dad worked as a die maker at General Motors, Barra recalls the thrill of seeing a brand-new automobile, fresh from the factory. “Every now and again, he would get to bring home a vehicle, and I distinctly remember the whole neighborhood would come over to check it out,” she says. “From a very early age, it sparked an interest in GM and engineering. My father and I have over 80 years with the company, so my love of vehicles and GM runs deep.”

Barra is chair and CEO of GM and has led the company for more than a decade, during which time the auto industry has seen transformational changes. Under Barra’s leadership, GM has charted an aggressive growth strategy, including investments in electric vehicle manufacturing, while beating analyst expectations in 35 of the last 36 quarters

Before becoming CEO, Barra served as GM’s executive vice president for global product development, purchasing, and supply chain and as senior vice president of global product development. In those roles, Barra led teams responsible for the worldwide design, engineering, and quality of GM vehicles.

Previously, she served as vice president of global human resources, vice president of global manufacturing engineering, and in several other executive engineering and staff positions at GM.

Adding to a long list of accolades during her career, Barra this spring received the 2024 Ernest C. Arbuckle Award from Stanford GSB, presented annually for excellence in management leadership.

Who or what were your most important influences growing up?

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. Neither of them had the opportunity to go to college, but they believed in the American Dream and shared with my brother and me from a very early age that there is no substitute for hard work. My mother instilled in us that if you work hard, you can do or be anything that you set your mind to. Reflecting on that gave me a sense of purpose and confidence as I progressed throughout my career.

You said your love of vehicles and for GM in particular runs deep. Do you have a favorite car?

Before I became CEO, I had the opportunity to lead global product development; I oversaw the engineering, design, and quality teams for every global vehicle launch. It’s an incredible job where you work hand-in-hand with the team to make decisions about each program, so I have such a connection with all of our cars, trucks, and SUVs. I joke that having a front-row seat to that piece of the business makes picking my favorite car like trying to pick my favorite child – and we all know you can’t! Although it’s hard to pick just one, right now, I’m really loving the all-new Chevrolet Equinox EV. Deliveries are underway, and I cannot wait to hear more customer response. At the price point, size, and style, I truly believe it’s the vehicle that is going to make people who never would have considered an EV take a serious look at owning one.

You’ve led GM through some turbulent times. What has been the most difficult challenge?

When I became CEO, the company faced the ignition switch crisis. It was a tragic time, with many lives lost. We had to address it by accepting full responsibility, being accountable, and prioritizing the safety of our customers first and foremost. Managing this crisis was incredibly challenging and taught me a lot about leadership and culture.

I strongly believe behaviors set your culture – and that’s not something you can fake. During this time, we undertook what I believe is the most comprehensive safety review in GM’s history and created a safety-first culture to ensure nothing like this could ever happen again.

We made sweeping enterprise changes, and the impact of that transformation is still felt today. We do our best every day to engrain safety, integrity and doing what’s right for the customer in every GM employee. Culture change requires hard work, persistence, and determination, but it can be done. And this is exactly what makes me feel confident that we will do what we need to do to set GM up for a future that is all-electric, software-defined, and autonomous.

What’s your approach to leadership in a company with large sets of stakeholders?

When a company has so many stakeholders, it’s important to surround yourself with a strong leadership team where every person is empowered to lead. Annually, the leadership team and I outline our goals for the year and the benchmarks that will drive those results, all rooted in our values and behaviors. Then we roll this out to the entire company so every employee understands how they fit into our strategy.

We’ve seen we can do remarkable and inspiring things when we have shared a vision, which is why a future of zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion is our North Star. It brings clarity and helps every member of the GM team prioritize the work and the results we seek.

What are the values that keep you centered and grounded?

Acting with integrity. As a leader, I instill the importance of always acting with integrity. To me, this means being driven by ingenuity and innovation, having the courage to do and say what’s difficult, and taking accountability for results. I would also say never taking our eyes off the customer and keeping them at the center of everything we do.

Where are we with respect to the adoption of electric vehicles, and how do you see the auto industry responding to efforts to reduce carbon emissions?

Third-party forecasts see EV deliveries rising to at least 10 percent of the industry in 2024, which means another year of record EV sales. We know the growth rate may vary over time, but in the long run, we expect EVs to continue to grow, especially as we bring more vehicles to market in high-volume segments. Consideration is rising, the policy environment is favorable, public charging infrastructure is growing, and customer choice is expanding.

How optimistic are you that the company is well-positioned for the future?

I’m very optimistic about the future of GM. I truly believe our product lineup has never been stronger, and I’m extremely proud of the team we’ve built. From a leadership perspective, we have a diverse team that brings an array of different experiences, backgrounds, and tenures to GM. People are often surprised to hear that 40 percent of our team has been with us for five years or less. We’re bringing in the right talent with the right skills to help us realize our vision – and it’s our vision and purpose that draw people to work at GM. We’ve assembled a great team of very talented people who are doing exactly what we need them to do, exactly when we need it done. I have a lot of confidence in them.

Has there been a failure or setback that taught you an important lesson?

Any time we let one of our customers down. Which is why we have focused on cultural changes that dramatically improved our quality and our ability to quickly identify and fix issues when they do happen.

What’s an example of something from your GSB training that still resonates?

I always say that before I came to Stanford GSB, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I was 26 years old and lived in southeast Michigan my entire life. I had worked for General Motors since I was 18. From accounting to corporate culture to entrepreneurship, my eyes were opened, and I learned to see the world from a different perspective. My experiences on campus changed my life and accelerated my career. They prepared me to manage and, ultimately, to lead.

The GSB helped me cultivate a learning mindset, which is something that resonates with me to this day. Managing a seismic change, like what we see happening in the automotive industry, requires a culture of innovation, unique perspectives, and an environment where every voice is valued and heard. These are all things I saw in action at the GSB, and I work to cultivate at GM.

Photos by John F. Martin for General Motors