New GM Boss Mary Barra Visits Lossmaking Opel General Motors' new chief executive, Mary Barra, is turning her attention to the company's lossmaking European division. Barry, who became CEO two weeks ago, is visiting the headquarters of Adam Opel AG, the company's German-based subsidiary. It's familiar turf for Barra, a former car development chief who sits on Opel's board of directors. She took over the top GM job on Jan. 15. Opel lost $200 million in the third quarter and the company says it only hopes to return it to break even by the middle of this decade. Opel and its sister brand Vauxhall saw sales slip by 1.4 percent last year in a sluggish European car market, though market share inched up to 6.8 percent from 6.7 percent.