Mary Barra Chairman Appointment

Reuters

GM CEO Barra Adds Chairman Role, Breaking Gender Ground Again - General Motors Co.’s board elected Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra as the company’s chairman, effective immediately. Barra became the biggest U.S. automaker’s first female CEO almost two years ago.

Barra, who has spent her entire career at the Detroit-based company, succeeds Tim Solso, who will remain on the board as lead independent director, the company said in a statement.

Much of Barra’s first year as the company’s top executive was consumed by the ignition-switch defect that killed 124 people. But GM proceeded to make a number of strategic decisions, such as pulling out of Russia and ending Chevrolet operations in Europe. Earlier Monday, GM announced it will invest $500 million in ride-hailing startup Lyft Inc.

“At a time of unprecedented industry change, the board concluded it is in the best interests of the company to combine the roles of chair and CEO in order to drive the most efficient execution of our plan and vision for the future,” Solso said in the statement. “With GM consistently delivering on its targets and on track to generate significant value for its shareholders, this is the right time for Mary to assume this role.”