Mary Barra

Benjamin Wachenje

Title: CEO, General Motors

Born: December 24, 1961, Waterford, Michigan

Education: BS in electrical engineering, General Motors Institute (now Kettering University); MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business

Early Marker: GM-lifer, first hired as an 18-year-old co-op student

Big Idea: As the first female CEO of a top automaker, she is bringing disciplined streamlining to GM's culture, engineering and product design and development so it can compete in the global auto market.

Wave of the Future: Emerging-markets consumers, U.S.-China commercial competition, eco-friendly transportation

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