General Motors announced Tuesday that Mary Barra will be its next CEO after current CEO Dan Akerson steps down next month. The appointment makes Barra the first female CEO of GM, and the first female head of a major automaker, Reuters reported.
"With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today's GM," Barry said in a statement. "I'm honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed."
Barry is currently GM's executive vice president for global product development, purchasing and supply chain. The position already makes her the top-ranking woman in the auto industry, Reuters reported. Akerson, who is also chairman of the GM board, was supposed to retire at a later date. He moved up his retirement after his wife's recent cancer diagnosis, Reuters reported.
The 51-year-old started out as a GM intern in 1980 and rose in the ranks ever since. Few GM employees said Barry was given increased consideration when in September Akerson said a woman leading an automaker one day is "inevitable," Reuters reported.
"Mary was not picked because of her gender or political correctness," Akerson said according to USA Today. She was chosen because of her "breadth and depth of experience, her managerial skills, her interpersonal skills...her understanding of our internal machinations."
Barry becomes CEO at a critical time for GM. Before Akerson, 64, became CEO in 2010, GM went through a $49.5 billion government bailout and bankruptcy reorganization, Reuters reported. Akerman successfully decreased the company's losses and repaired its credit rating, Reuters reported.
"I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America's standard bearer in the global auto industry," Akerson told his employees, Reuters reported.
