March 19, 2012, Detroit: There are comebacks, and then there are comebacks. In 2009, General Motors (
No. 5) filed for bankruptcy, requiring a federal bailout to survive. But after downsizing and dusting itself off under Chapter 11 protection, it launched a monster IPO in 2010 and saw its most profitable year ever in 2011. Europe remains a shaky market, and the rollout of its high-profile electric car, the Volt, has proved a bumpy ride. But for now, the auto giant returns to the Fortune 500's top five for the first time since 2008.
Left, row 1: Patricia F. Russo, former CEO, Alcatel-Lucent; Dr. Cynthia A. Telles, director, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute; Kathryn V. Marinello, chairman and CEO, Stream Global Services; row 2: Neville Isdell, former chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola; Stephen J. Girsky, vice chairman, corporate strategy, global product planning, General Motors; Erroll B. Davis Jr., superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools. Right, row 1: Carol M. Stephenson, dean, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada; Robert D. Krebs, former chairman and CEO, Burlington Northern Santa Fe; row 2: Daniel F. Akerson, chairman and CEO, General Motors; Phillip A. Laskawy, former chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young; Thomas M. Schoewe, former executive vice president and chief financial officer, Wal-Mart Stores
NEXT: eBay