GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra is joining the board of directors at The Walt Disney Co.
General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra has agreed to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Co.
“Beyond being an incredibly respected leader of a major U.S. company, Mary is recognized as an agent of change with a relentless focus on quality, safety and, most importantly, consumers,” said Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Co.
“Her ability to adapt to a changing technological and consumer-focused landscape makes her uniquely suited for the Disney Board.”
The entertainment giant is facing challenges ranging from a declining theater audiences to the trend towards “cord cutting,” which is having an impact on the assets such as the ABC network, the Disney Channel and ESPN. In addition, the directors also have to settle on a successor to Iger.
(Trump disbands economic councils – could impact auto industry at critical time. For the story, Click Here.)
GM CEO Mary Barra has some time available now that President Donald Trump dissolved his business councils.
“I am honored to be associated with such an iconic organization as The Walt Disney Co.,” Barra said in a statement, accepting the position.
“Under Bob’s visionary leadership, the Disney team has continued to set the benchmark for innovation, branding and the highest levels of customer service. GM has worked together with Disney on a number of projects over the years, and I look forward to helping contribute to the company’s ongoing success as the world’s premier entertainment and media enterprise,” she said.
(Click Here for more about the ending of Trump’s biz councils.)
Barra served as a director of General Dynamics from 2011 until last spring. She left voluntarily and her departure “was not a result of any disagreement with the company,” General Dynamics said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Barra serves on a variety of other boards as well, including the Stanford University Board of Trustees and the Stanford GSB Advisory Council; Board of Directors of the Detroit Economic Club; the Board of Trustees for Detroit Country Day School; and as a member of The Business Council. Barra is also co-chair of the Department of Transportation’s Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation.
(To see more about GM’s sale of Opel to PSA, Click Here.)
She was also member of the President Donald Trump’s manufacturing advisory council before it dissolved earlier this month. Iger also had been a member of the President’s economic advisory council, but quit after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris accord on Climate Change.