Famous MBA Alumni: Automotive & Energy

Below in our series about famous MBA alumni, we meet leaders in the automotive and energy industries. You can learn about other famous alumni from tech & media and healthcare & retail in our other installments.

Our series on famous MBA alumni has plucked diverse and impressive names from across the world of business and traced their successes all the way back to their MBAs. In this article, we’ll be looking at some of the top names in the automotive and energy industries, detailing the educational histories of people wielding some serious power, molding the future of cars and demonstrating their commitment to the industry. The uniting factor between the automotive and energy industries is inescapable: their impact on our everyday lives. Read on to learn more about how the people making the decisions that drive these crucial industries got to where they are today, and how their business schools set them up for success.

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, Stanford GSB MBA Class of 1990

In a world in which the average person will hold 12 jobs in their lifetime, Mary Barra is somewhat of an exception. At age 18 she procured her first job in General Motors (GM) inspecting fenders and hoods in the Pontiac Motor Division while she completed an undergraduate degree at General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) on the side. She rose through the ranks of GM steadily; having progressed to the role of Senior Engineer post-graduation, she was recognized for her talent in leadership and awarded a fellowship to complete an MBA at Stanford GSB. The rest was history – her rise continued, and she became the GM CEO in 2014. 

With Barra in charge, GM is raking in profits and on a steady path to sustainability, with crashes and emissions both on the way out. Her leadership style prioritizes trust, accountability, diversity and truth, trickling down GM’s corporate culture to transform it. Her message to incoming business leaders is to work hard and dream big, professing that “Education will open doors. Talent will open worlds. But it is hard work that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever imagined”.

Amongst Barra’s achievements as CEO is the fact that she was the first woman to occupy such a position in the automotive industry. As such, awards for her accomplishments have streamed in, and she has been named one of the most influential women in business by publications such as Fortune, Forbes and Time.

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Corporation, UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 1990

For Jim Farley, the position of CEO at Ford Motor Company isn’t just a job. It’s the dream of a car enthusiast, a racer, and a repairer come true, and an ode to his grandfather’s work at the same company.

Farley was appointed as the 11th CEO of the 121 years of Ford history on October 1st 2020. His first year at the helm resulted in market shares of Ford rising by 100% and dramatic steps taken by the company into the electric vehicle industry; the beginning of a transformation whereby Ford will lead the “electric revolution in the automation industry”.

Farley’s long career spearheading new business initiatives stemmed from his education: first, degrees in economics and computer science at Georgetown University, followed by an MBA at UCLA Anderson in 1990. 

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, Northwestern Kellogg MBA Class of 1992  

Darren Woods completed his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1992, a move that led him directly into his first role at ExxonMobil, the multinational oil and gas corporation. Upon joining the company, he ran their refining and chemical divisions for a mighty 24 years before being appointed as CEO. His work on the refining side of business was lucrative, delivering most of ExxonMobil’s $7.8 billion net income in 2016. His work at ExxonMobil is far reaching and wide ranging: as the eighth largest company in the world, he has a workforce of more than 61,500 people below him and a revenue of $344.6 billion to manage.