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Mary Barra Will Lead the Auto Industry's First Majority-Female Board

  • Two male directors, both 72, will not stand for re-election
  • Women are going to occupy six of GM’s 11 board seats
Mary Barra
Mary BarraPhotographer: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg

Women will be the majority on the board of General Motors Co. later this year, after two male directors retire. It’s a first for an automaker and places GM among a small handful of companies with roughly the same number of men and women at the highest level.

GM’s board will shrink to 11 members, from 13, with two directors not standing for re-election at the annual meeting on June 4, the company said in its proxy filing. Jim Mulva, former CEO of ConocoPhillips, and Admiral Mike Mullen, former chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, are both 72, the retirement age for the automaker’s board.