The CEO Diary with Fexingo · 2026-07-28 · 9 min
Mary Barra became CEO of General Motors in 2014, just as the company was emerging from bankruptcy and a government bailout. A decade later, she has bet the entire company on an all-electric future, committing to end production of internal combustion vehicles by 2035. This episode examines a single critical decision: her 2021 choice to invest $35 billion in EV and autonomous vehicle development, then her 2025 move to double down despite slower-than-expected adoption. We walk through how Barra navigated pushback from dealers, unions, and investors, and why she decided to vertically integrate battery production through joint ventures with LG Chem and Samsung. The episode drills into the specific leadership moves that distinguish Barra from other legacy auto CEOs: her willingness to shutter profitable ICE plants early, her hands-on role in the 2023 UAW negotiations, and how she shifted GM's culture from engineering-centric to software-and-electricity-centric. A look at the corner office decisions behind the biggest industrial transformation since Henry Ford.
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