Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Melania Trump says she supports abortion rights, Sen. Elizabeth Warren eyes Citigroup, and luckMichel Leif Rahm examines Mary Barra’s second major transformation at GM. Have a relaxing weekend.
– development. The word “transformation” gets thrown around a lot. But few leaders successfully lead companies through Phase 2, let alone stay at the top long enough to try to guide their organization through Phase 2.
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, is in that rare club. Earlier this year, she reached the CEO position for 10 years, which is unique for any public company leader but especially a woman. (The average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is 7.2 years for men and only 4.5 years for women.) Barra, who is ranked No. 1 on Fortune’s list of this year’s Most Powerful Women, took over in early 2014, just in time for one of GM’s biggest crises. A few weeks after she took the job, GM recalled millions of vehicles because of faulty ignition switches, and Barra found herself testifying before Congress, leading the automaker through a massive transformation, shifting the culture that had enabled the crisis to emerge from its internal control. Control those that encourage employees to speak up, especially regarding potential safety issues. Fast forward to today, and Barra is now trying to lead GM through another transformation, this time shifting from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles.
Mackenzie Stroh Wealth
There is no easy transition. Growth in demand for electric vehicles has slowed recently, prompting GM to say it will be “flexible” in its transition to electric vehicles to reflect customer demand. But Barra remains committed to its ambitious goal of degassing by 2035: “We never thought this would be a straight line, a linear transition,” Barra told me during a recent interview. (Read the full Q&A with the CEO here.) “There are 283 million vehicles in the U.S. alone, so it will take some time to change them.”
As a lifelong GM, Barra had seen the company go through several previous developments, not to mention near-bankruptcy, even before he became its CEO. But perhaps some of her determination for this current transformation comes not only from her roots in Detroit car culture but also from Silicon Valley, where she has been spending more and more time, and where GM now has a research and innovation center.
“One of the things John Chambers (former Cisco CEO) told me is that in Silicon Valley, most people think they can do the impossible,” Barra says, recalling a 2016 trip to the Bay Area with her entire leadership. a team.
It’s still early days for GM to switch from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, and the company certainly has skeptics. But it’s clear that Barra takes a long-term view, both when it comes to her leadership style and the company’s future.
Read the full story here
Michal Lev Ram
michael.levram@fortune.com
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Also in the headlines
– Couple discrepancy. Melania Trump said she supports abortion rights in her upcoming memoir, a stark contrast to her husband’s presidential campaign. “Restricting a woman’s right to choose to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as depriving her of control over her body,” the former first lady wrote. The Guardian
– Growing pains. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is calling for limits on growth at Citigroup as the bank deals with regulatory issues, saying Citi has become “too big to manage.” Previously, CEO Jane Fraser and other bank executives have expressed their commitment to fixing such issues and adhering to laws and regulations. Reuters
– Reducing electoral concerns. Director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jane Easterly, reassured voters that the upcoming elections cannot be changed by foreign adversaries. Efforts to secure voting, ballot counting and other election infrastructure have made the system more robust than ever, Easterly says. AP
– Warning sign. Consensual relationships in the workplace weren’t always a shootable offense for executives, but they are becoming one. Companies are beginning to see relationships with their subordinates as warning signs of other problematic behaviors within the organization. Bloomberg
Movers and shakers
Remezcla Media Group was named Tatiana Diaz Editor-in-Chief of the digital publication HipLatina. She will continue to serve as editor-in-chief of Remezcla magazine.
Dealpath, an investment and deal management platform in the real estate sector, was appointed Bai Hong As chief financial officer. She was previously Head of Strategic Finance at CloudTrucks.
IONNA, a charging network founded by BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Stellantis and Toyota. Jackie Sloop Chief Technology Officer. Previously, she was Vice President of Data Analytics and Digital at AEG.
Critical Start, a cybersecurity platform provider, was appointed Stuti Bhargava As Head of Customer Department. Most recently, she served as Chief Customer Experience Officer at OneSpan.
On my radar
How billionaire Epic’s 81-year-old founder plans to keep his health data empire private forever Forbes
Keisha freed herself. She now memorizes music deer
How Bogg Bags and Crocs handbags have captured the admiration of mothers in America Bloomberg
Parting words
“We always think about things that affect us in America, but this is a truly global situation. Seeing the issues some women face in sports is very concerning.”
— Allyson Felix, retired Olympic track and field athlete, From the perspective I’ve gained from working with female athletes around the world