DETROIT - Fortune Magazine has named Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co., to the top spot on their list of the Most Powerful Women.
Barra topped 50 other women to take the first spot, jumping up from No. 2 last year.
Fortune wrote of the the 53-year-old executive:
"In her second year as head of the nation's largest auto-maker, Barra--in the top spot this year--has led the $156-billion-in-sales company out from under the shadow of its 2014 ignition-switch recall. Barra spent $2.9 billion on recalls, which dropped 2014 profits 26%. Yet in recent months she has beaten back headwinds from weak international markets, as sales of expensive trucks and SUVs have soared. Barra was one of the few female CEO participants in the viral #ilooklikeanengineer Twitter campaign, which promoted women in tech."
Barra beat out Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, and Taylor Swift on this year's list.
Ian Thibodeau is the business and development reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. He can be reached at ithibode@mlive.com, or follow him on Twitter.