Mary Barra to succeed Akerson as CEO GM

When the reign of power of General Motors was transferred from Whitacre to Dan Akerson in 2010, everybody had their speculations. Most of them wondered what an outsider, who didn't know much about automotives, would do to the company.

But Akerson proved everybody wrong. Though he was termed as ruthless by many (because of the plants he shut down across the globe, the latest one being in Australia), he did get General Motors out of the huge debt that they were under.

At 65, Akerson announced that he will step down as the CEO in January 2014 and his successor will be none other than the General Motors' current global product chief, Mary Barra. He was to announce his retirement in July 2014 but preponed it to January because of his wife's advanced cancer diagnosis.

Very few people know this, but Barra's father worked as a die maker in General Motors for 39 years and Barra herself has been a lifer with the American company. Having completed 33 years with General Motors, she brings a lot more than just experience to the table.

When she starts her new job on January 15, she will lead a company that's made nearly $20billion since emerging from bankruptcy in 2010, much of it from the cars and trucks she helped develop.

She still faces challenges of paring down GM's costs and winning over buyers in international markets such as India and we all know how big a challenge that is.

There is a lot expected from Barra and we know that the married mother-of-two who is the first woman to head a global car manufacturer, will not disappoint.