Charging Ahead: GM, Mary Barra, and the Reinvention of an American Icon

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Mary Barra’s quest to move GM to a manufacturer of electric cars has captured the attention of automobile aficionados, green-business advocates, and leaders of all types who have to admire Mary’s toughness in moving forward despite the overwhelming obstacles in her path.

A decade ago, no one would have guessed that GM would be the company poised to lead America into the future. At a time when business book readers seem endlessly fascinated by soaring tech giants like Amazon and Netflix, and ill-fated startups like WeWork and Theranos, why is it important to put the spotlight back on 112-year-old GM? Because Charlie Wilson’s quip from 1952 is still true: What’s good for GM is still good for America, and vice versa. America needs to transition to a new era of clean energy and environmentally sustainable transportation. We also need to adapt to a world with far fewer assembly-line jobs, but far more skilled jobs for people who can design, build, and operate robots and other high-tech machines. GM’s attempt to lead those transitions is as important as it is dramatic.

Equally compelling is the story of GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, who against all odds took the reins at GM in 2014. Since that time, she has attempted to reinvent a century-old company and equip it for the biggest change in transportation since the internal combustion engine replaced the horse. In the process, she has been ripping out GM traditions by the roots—and taking flak from all sides. Her plan is to make GM—the company famed for the gas-burning Corvette, hulking Cadillac Escalade, and carbon-spewing Silverado pickup—purely electric and clean by 2035.  

She may not be as wealthy as Jeff Bezos, as brash as Elon Musk, or as powerful as Mark Zuckerberg, but Mary Barra is just as important as any of them. And as one of the most powerful female executives in the world, she is overdue for an in-depth look at her forward-thinking vision, her approach to leadership, and her accomplishments against the odds.

From the Publisher

Be inspired by Mary Barra’s against-the-odds example of forward-thinking vision, leadership, and historic accomplishment

Mary Barra set an example for anyone who seeks a leadership position through an unconventional path—or anyone who wants to make an impact in an industry that treats them like an outsider.

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Barra was used to being underestimated. On top of that, her background lay in engineering and HR—not exactly the typical route to executive-level leadership.

But in 2013, GM named Mary Barra as the new CEO. It was a coming-of-age moment for all women in business. America had seen female CEOs at iconic companies—but this was GM. The General. And fresh on the heels of its 2009 bankruptcy and government bailout, it needed help.

To make GM profitable again, Barra had to shatter tradition, push the company away from its gas-guzzling mainstays, and lead the company into a future of electric vehicles and clean energy.

About the Author

David Welch is the Detroit bureau chief for Bloomberg News and also covers the auto industry for Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. He has been with Bloomberg for 12 years and was the Detroit bureau chief for BusinessWeek before that. He has written six cover stories about GM for BusinessWeek, as well as major articles and news-breaking coverage about all the major auto companies and related topics.

Welch’s work has won awards from organizations such as the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Clarion Awards, the New York Press Club, the Deadline Club, and the Society of Professional Journalists. He was a finalist for Global Business Journalist of the Year for his 2005 Businessweek cover story about GM’s decline, which predicted the company’s descent into bankruptcy four years later.

He is currently President of the Automotive Press Association, the hub of all national and international media people in Detroit and in the automotive community across the United States.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09N98PV54
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins Leadership (September 20, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 20, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 824 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1400233593