GM names Mary Barra as first woman CEO

Detroit giant General Motors has become the first car maker to appoint a woman as its head, naming Mary Barra as its next chief executive officer. Barra will take over from Akerson on 15 January.

Female chief executives are no longer unusual in other sectors; but chiefs of automotive companies have so far always been men. Yet the 51-year-old Barra's appointment has little to do with her gender – she has spent her entire 33-year career with America's top car maker, and is currently the global product development chief. Her father too is a long-time GM employee.

Barra's appointment is seen as a signal that the development of new vehicles will be the paramount focus of the company that emerged from bankruptcy four years ago.

Barra's ascension also marks the re-emergence of an engineer at the helm of GM, a company long dominated by financial executives who were sometimes criticised by investors as lacking experience on the product side of the business.

With her engineering background, plant experience, time spent running human resources and her current job in charge of product development, purchasing and suppliers, Barra has the expertise needed to help continue the company's turnaround, analysts and investors reportedly say.

GM said on Tuesday that Akerson, who is also the chairman, will leave the company. He had planned to leave the post after mid-2014, but brought that forward after learning about two months ago that his wife had an advanced stage of cancer.

Barra will be GM's fifth CEO in less than five years since Rick Wagoner was forced out by the Obama administration in March 2009 as the company headed towards its bankruptcy filing. She is currently an executive vice president.

The Michigan native will be GM's fifth female director. Theodore Solso, 66, will succeed Akerson, 65, as chairman.

Akerson said Barra had "brought order to chaos" in the global product development process. He said her task would be to finish the job he started: further raising profits by making product development more efficient, bolstering operations in Asia outside China and building on the small progress made in money-losing Europe.

In a town hall meeting with employees, Akerson called Barra a "car gal," playing on the "car guy" term used heavily in the industry to describe male executives who know vehicles well.

He said Barra was chosen for her talent, not gender, and that the board had not looked at any outside candidates. He said Barra's selection was unanimous and it was the board's decision to split the chairman and CEO jobs, a move he supported.

Under Akerson, GM moved to eliminate some of its historic bureaucracy and inefficiencies, recovered its investment grade credit rating and pared financial losses in its European business. He said history would view him as a "transition CEO."

Barra has risen through a series of manufacturing, engineering and senior staff positions, and is currently in charge of reducing the number of platforms on which GM builds its vehicles. Her father worked as a die maker at GM for 39 years.

"The key to General Motors' long-term success is great products," Barra said in a video posted on the company's website on Tuesday.