GM CEO Mary Barra is No. 1 on Fortune's 2024 Most Powerful Women list

GM CEO Mary Barra started her career at just 18 years old, and is now No. 1 on Fortune's 2024 Most Powerful Women list.

Transcript

00:00General Motors CEO Mary Bauer has claimed Fortune's top spot on our Most Powerful Women list.

00:05But who is she and how did she reach the top?

00:07Bauer was born in Michigan and attended Kettering University where she studied Electrical Engineering,

00:13but before her career even started at GM, Bauer received a scholarship from the company,

00:18later completing her MBA at Stanford.

00:20Bauer's first year as CEO began with one of the most catastrophic recalls in the carmaker's history.

00:26Millions of GM-made cars had faulty ignition switches and some accidents were even fatal.

00:31She was the first woman ever to lead a global automaker and the pressure was

00:35on as she spent most of her first year testifying in front of lawmakers who

00:39wanted to know why the defects had gone unfixed for so long.

00:43It's been 10 years since Bauer became CEO,

00:46more than double the average tenure of a woman CEO on the Fortune 500.

00:51She's helped GM reach its strongest financial position since the company claimed bankruptcy

00:55in 2009, brought in $171.8 billion last year, and helped reach an agreement with

01:01the United Auto Workers that included almost 150,000 employees on strike.

01:06Her best advice she gives GM employees?

01:09The best time to solve a problem is the minute you know you have one,

01:12because problems don't usually get smaller, they get bigger.