In the past decade, what once was an American staple—automotive company General Motors—has faced extreme challenges like never before, from bankruptcy to an ignition quality failure that resulted in the deaths of more than one hundred citizens and in over thirty million recalls. After spending thirty-seven years with the company, CEO of three years Mary Barra feels that her executive corporate leadership will take the company in a new direction, one focused on the trends of modern times. (Colby 7-12). As the first female CEO of such an automobile giant, Barra has a new perspective on corporate leadership in the country that has come from a result of her life-long involvement with the company, flexibility, educational and career background, and many more aspects that all define what being a successful business leader means. Mary Barra was born in Michigan in 1961 to working class parents. In fact, her father worked for Pontiac for thirty-nine years, introducing Mary at an early age to the ways of the automobile industry and encouraging her interest in …show more content…
She proposed a plan to retool all of the company’s plants while she was working as manager of manufacturing planning for the mid-sized car division (Colby 51-55). From there, she was interviewed to become Smith’s assistant, a position integral to the development of her leadership and problem-solving skills. As his assistant, she worked with all aspects of the company, many of which she had no education about or experience in, ranging from innovative technology, rationalizing corporate staffs, and even HR and communications (Ross 1). Again, this variety of work experience within the same company allows her today to be a more understanding, inventive, and representative leader of a company in a time in which the company is in dire need of