GM CEO Mary Barra, who serves on an industry forum advising Trump, said she is "150% committed" to GM.
General Motors Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra flatly rejected the idea that she might be preparing to accept a job in the administration of President Donald Trump.
Barra said during a conference call with analysts and journalists following the release of GM’s first quarter financial that she was “150 % committed” to her job at the auto giant where she has worked for the past 37 years, including the past three as CEO.
“I am 150% committed to this company,” she said, adding that personally she finds it to be an incredibly exciting time to be working at GM during a period when the auto industry is on the verge of a technological revolution.
“I am 150% dedicated to this company to being the leader,” said Barra, who also said she wanted GM to lead what she described as the transformation of the auto industry. “That’s where my focus is and will be going forward,” she said.
(GM beats estimates as earnings rise 34%. For the story, Click Here.)
She also told analysts that the move to autonomous vehicles will come “sooner than people think” and GM’s ongoing tests of autonomous vehicles have achieved impressive results navigating city streets without any incidents.
Mary Barra plays an active role in advising the Trump Administration on economic policy.
GM recently announced plans to spend $14 million on a new technical center in San Francisco for Cruise Automation and plans to hire 1,100 new employees for the company working on automated vehicles GM acquired last year.
The Trump administration has yet to fill hundreds of senior level positions that are critical to managing and directing the U.S. government and speculation about Barra could be a leading candidate for a top post in the transportation department, specifically as head of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration replacing the departed Mark Rosekind, surfaced recently.
(Click Here to see how come Barra brings home the industry’s fattest paycheck.)
It was fueled by the fact that Trump has favored corporate executives for key government jobs and Barra had already agreed to serve on a panel of outside economic experts that he put in place after his inauguration in January.
Rosemary Shahan, president of the Sacramento, Calif.-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety group, noted his existing relationship with Barra, naming her to a Strategic and Policy Forum that advises him on economic issues and jobs growth, and met with her in Washington on at least two occasions.
“He seems to be very friendly with her,” Shahan said in a Detroit News story.
(To see more about Barra’s new role helping the Trump administration, Click Here.)
Barra was also an early contender to be a running mate for Trump’s opponent in the last election, Hillary Clinton. However, she didn’t make it beyond the first round of named pulled together by Clinton’s advisors.