The magazine credits Barra with skillfully navigating the company out from “under the shadow” of the 2014 ignition-switch crisis, which exploded just months after she took the helm. She is also said to be willing to encourage other girls and young women to get involved in the tech industry, participating in the #ilooklikeanengineer Twitter campaign.
“Barra spent $2.9 billion on recalls, which dropped 2014 profits 26%,” the report notes. “Yet in recent months she has beaten back headwinds from weak international markets, as sales of expensive trucks and SUVs have soared.”
Analysts are closely watching Barra’s ongoing leadership as she continues to push for a new corporate culture at GM, which emerged from bankruptcy just a few years ago. It could take years to determine if the changes have made a long-term impact.
This year’s Fortune list includes 27 CEOs that control companies with a collective stock-market value of more than one trillion dollars.
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