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Jeremy Wyatt jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com HarrisonLawGroup.com (410) 832-0000
PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
40 West Chesapeake Avenue, Ste. 600 Towson, MD 21204 Inside This Edition
1. 2.
Responsibility Matters in Parenting
Make 2021’s B2B Marketing Trends Work in 2022
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Why This NYC Attraction Became Illegal
3 Steps to Identify Your Business Value
4.
How Mary Barra Helped GM
From ‘Car Girl’ to CEO of GM Meet Mary Barra
According to an interview with Stanford Magazine, Mary Barra is a self-proclaimed red convertible "car girl.” Her eyes gleamed as she talked about the day she first saw her cousin’s Chevy Camaro convertible, a late ‘60s vintage model. At that moment Barra knew she’d love cars forever, so she worked on cars as soon as she could. In fact, she was only 18 years old when she started working for General Motors (GM). She worked her way up while earning a couple of college degrees, and she held multiple engineering and administrative positions at GM, including managing the massive Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant. By 2014, Barra became the CEO of GM and was the first female head of a “Big Three” automaker in the United States. It was a dream come true — her appointment even earned her a spot on Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World of 2014. However, during her first
year as CEO, GM faced one of the worst scandals in the U.S. auto industry: the GM ignition switch scandal. Faulty switches resulted in 124 deaths and 275 injuries, which prompted the Senate to conduct an investigation. Barra’s court appearances led to a public outcry against GM, forcing the company to recall nearly 30 million cars due to their defective ignition switches. Although no federal charges were pressed against Barra or the GM executives, the company paid $120 million in settlement claims and offered $595 million to victims and families affected by the scandal.
to the defective ignition switches. Additionally, she initiated GM’s shift toward electric-powered cars, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which became the first electric car with a range of 200 miles priced under $40,000, a milestone that warranted significant coverage. According to GM executives, a major reason for Barra’s corporate and entrepreneurial success is not only her passion for cars, but also her skill to listen and communicate well with others. Her “consensus approach” involves conducting town hall meetings to seek input from the majority of people, not just top management.
Barra’s subsequent actions became key. She fired 15 employees, including eight executives, for failing to respond quickly
This allows every employee to be heard, and that
inclusive environment remains a crucial part of GM’s ability to thrive far beyond its darkest days.
4 | (410) 832-0000 | jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com
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