Mary Barra

Mary Barra has been multitasking, readying General Motors for the electric automobile future even as she has continued to expand market share for the carmaker’s current vehicles. Last year, GM’s revenue rose 23% to hit $156.7 billion as it won over more customers for its SUVs and pickups. But Barra has also continued to lay the groundwork for making GM a leader in EVs: Always a pragmatic CEO, she struck a partnership with Tesla to incorporate its rival’s charging connector design into GM’s cars on the bet that a new standard would speed up EV adoption across the industry. The company is also working with Samsung SDI to build another U.S. battery cell manufacturing plant to bolster EV capacity, and it is investing in updating other manufacturing facilities. Of course, the auto workers' strike has the potential to put a wrench in Barra’s plans. Barra is also the chair of the Business Roundtable, giving her enormous influence over how lawmakers act on matters that affect corporate America.