After navigating the company through a year embattled by regulatory hurdles from automotive tariffs and the reversal of federal incentives for electric vehicles, General Motors’ board approved the highest-ever salary for CEO Mary Barra.
The Detroit automaker said April 20 that Barra’s 2025 compensation was $29,895,868 million, up 1.3% or $399,231, from $29,496,637 in 2024.
Barra, 64, is one of the longest standing CEOs in GM history and has historically had the highest executive compensation of the Detroit Three automakers. Barra’s income and that of other key GM executives are reported annually in a company proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Barra’s income is broken down into several categories: $2.1 million in salary she has received each year since 2017, $21,623,970 in stock awards, $4,956,000 in incentive plan compensation, and the balance of $1,215,898 in other payments for items such as benefits, savings plans and insurance, medical or company vehicles.
Sterling Anderson’s a big deal
GM’s board also approved an elaborate, one-time-only new hire award package for an executive that media reports have said is on a short list to replace Barra ― Sterling Anderson.
Anderson’s hiring package totaled $40 million, a one-time deal that would be paid out through 2027. After the deal’s terms conclude on July 29, 2027, Anderson will receive a regular compensation more in line with other GM executives, according to GM.
Anderson, who began work in June as GM’s chief product officer, received total compensation of cash and stock of $16 million for last year. Of that, his base salary was $583,333.
But, if he stays with GM and continues to achieve company objectives, he could take home another $24 million.
Anderson left his role as cofounder of self-driving truck company Aurora and was a former lead on Tesla’s Model X and Autopilot program. He now oversees the majority of GM’s software and services engineering team, a move that GM said last October would better align those departments with product development.
The increase in Anderson’s responsibilities came amid the departure of several other GM execs based in Silicon Valley who all left last November: Former Apple exec Dave Richardson; Bariş Cetinok, the automaker’s senior vice president of software and services product management; and Barak Turovsky, GM’s first-ever chief artificial intelligence officer who departed just eight months into the job created for him.
Anderson’s $24 million in potential awards are based on these targets:
“The committee believes this is an important investment in GM’s competitiveness and ability to continue creating superior, technology-forward vehicles and to advancing our strategy to generate long-term growth and returns for shareholders,” GM said in the SEC filing.
GM Compensation Committee Chair Devin Wenig said in a letter to shareholders included in the filing that GM exceeded performance targets in 2025 and approved an 8.1% increase of Barra’s long-term compensation opportunities.
“We believe this adjustment in her target pay, entirely in long-term equity, is aligned with our shareholders’ interests while appropriately recognizing Ms Barra’s exceptional leadership,” Wenig’s letter read.
Higher salaries around town
GM altered the formula in its executive variable compensation structure in 2024 to align more closely with the company’s four strategic growth areas — internal combustion engine vehicles, electric vehicles, software and services, and autonomous vehicles.
Other GM executives saw modest salary increases as well. GM paid President Mark Reuss $19,307,990 in 2025, up 4.6%, and CFO Paul Jacobson $13,839,977, up 5.5%.
GM is the last of the Detroit Three to file its annual proxy report.
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley received $27,519,558 in total compensation for 2025, the company said March 27, up 11% and his highest salary since becoming CEO in late 2020.
Stellantis paid CEO Antonio Filosa about $6.3 million for his work in 2025. That covers only six months of executive compensation, as Filosa took over as CEO June.
Stellantis paid former CEO Carlos Tavares about $14 million in 2025 after he left the company in December 2024.
Staff writers Liam Rappleye and Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report.
Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GM CEO Mary Barra’s salary divulged, plus a big surprise
Reporting by Jackie Charniga, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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