Mary Barra Named Among Fortune’s Top Leaders Amid Detroit Recovery
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has been ranked ninth on Fortune’s 2015 list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders, joining Detroit officials credited with guiding the city through bankruptcy.
Mary Barra, chief executive of General Motors, has been ranked ninth on Fortune magazine’s 2015 list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders. The recognition comes as Detroit continues its recovery from bankruptcy, with Barra joined in the top 20 by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and former emergency manager Kevyn Orr.
Fortune’s annual list highlights figures who have made a substantial impact in business, government and beyond. Barra’s position reflects her handling of the ignition-switch recall crisis that engulfed GM in 2014, as well as her efforts to overhaul the company’s internal culture. She became the first woman to lead a global carmaker when she took the top job in January 2014.
Barra’s leadership during GM’s safety crisis
Barra was appointed CEO shortly before GM announced a recall of 2.6 million vehicles for a faulty ignition switch, a defect linked to over 100 deaths. The company admitted it had delayed action for more than a decade. Barra’s response included a public commitment to transparency and a shake-up of GM’s approach to safety, reversing a longstanding tendency to downplay such crises.
The fallout from the recall led to the largest series of recalls in GM’s history and forced a re-examination of engineering, quality control and reporting structures. Barra’s approach was cited by Fortune as a break from past practices, with the magazine crediting her for confronting the issues openly and pushing for cultural change inside the company.
Detroit officials recognised for city’s recovery
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Kevyn Orr, the city’s former emergency manager, were jointly ranked 20th. Their inclusion recognised their roles in leading Detroit out of its 2013 Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. Both were credited by Fortune for their part in stabilising city finances and supporting Detroit’s emergence from crisis.
