14
Inspire Now Top 20
Mary Barra
Chair & CEO, General Motors
United States
Steering legacy automotive manufacturing through electrification and software-defined vehicles.
- Accelerated GM’s EV portfolio and battery strategy
- Navigated industrial transformation with union and policy stakeholders
- Championed safety and accountability reforms post-crisis learning
Industrial transformation at societal scale.
Mary Barra’s role is a masterclass in stakeholder capitalism: workers, governments, suppliers, and customers pulling in different directions.
Her tenure underscores that legacy companies can reinvent—if leadership commits capital cycles early enough.
Readers in manufacturing see a blueprint for disciplined portfolio pivots.
“If we win the hearts and minds of employees, we are going to be better positioned to win the hearts and minds of customers.”