Photo: Benjamin Applebaum / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Mary Barra started at General Motors at 18 as a co-op student, inspecting fender panels and hoods at the Pontiac plant. In 2014 she became the first woman to run a major American automaker.
Her father was a die maker at Pontiac for 39 years. She earned an electrical engineering degree from General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, and an MBA from Stanford.
Her first year as CEO was consumed by the ignition switch recall. She has since pushed GM toward electric vehicles while keeping its trucks, the Silverado and Sierra, as its money makers. Those pickups are among the most common vehicles in any farm town.
Kim Sanders writes for Clarion News Online.