GM sheds ‘Government Motors’ moniker, Ford Mustang at 50

It was a historic week for General Motors Co. First the federal government completed its sale of shares in the Detroit icon and second a woman was named to lead the resurgent U.S. automaker.

Mary T. Barra is a 33-year veteran of GM who most recently was executive vice president of global product development.

Described by some industry observers as a "car gal," Barra helped restructure the company's product offerings after the automaker was saved by a Treasury Department bailout in 2009.

In all, the federal government pumped $49.5 billion into GM -- saving hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs at the company and parts manufacturers -- during the worst of the economic downturn. After nearly five years, Treasury sold its final block of 31.1 million shares in GM for a loss of $10.5 billion to taxpayers.

In 2009, the government owned 910 million shares. GM stock closed at $40.04 on Friday, up more than 40 percent this year.

Most economists say it was worth it. GM is healthy and making profits and the automaker now can pay dividends on its common stock and has no restrictions on compensation for executives.

"With the final sale of GM stock, this important chapter in our nation's history is now closed," U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said.

A day after Lew's announcement, GM Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson, 65, announced he is retiring effective Jan. 15 and would be succeeded by Barra, 51, the first female executive to head GM -- or any major auto company.

"With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today's GM," Barra said in a statement. "I'm honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed."

Barra, a married mother of two teenagers, has been at GM since college, joining the company as an 18-year-old co-op electrical engineering student in the Pontiac division in 1980. She has managed an assembly plant and ran GM's human resources departments from 2009 until she was named global product development chief in 2011.

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GM sheds 'Government Motors' moniker, Ford Mustang at 50