Vera Maureen Kempston Darkes, OC OOnt (born July 31, 1948) is a Canadian lawyer and automotive executive who was the General Motors Group Vice President; President, GM Latin America, Africa and Middle East; a member of the General Motors Automotive Strategy Board, since January 1, 2002; and held the highest operating post ever achieved by a woman at General Motors at the time (Mary Barra subsequently held several senior executive positions before becoming CEO of General Motors in January 2014).
In 1975, she joined the legal staff of General Motors of Canada and she became assistant counsel in 1979.
She rose to become general counsel and secretary of GM Canada in 1992.
[1] She is a corporate director of Brookfield Asset Management, Canadian National Railway, Enbridge, and Schlumberger Limited.
She was ranked by Fortune magazine in 2003 as the 6th "Most Powerful Women in International Business".