The 38th Woman
Every year, Fortune magazine identifies the top 500 publicly traded companies in the United States. The bottom of that list is about 8BN in sales, and the top is hundreds of billions. The job also comes with the responsibility for coordinating the strategic direction and livelihoods of thousands, and often hundreds of thousands, of people.
On September 14th, 2020, the 38th female CEO will join the ranks of F500 leadership: Clorox has named a 42 year old woman Linda Rendle, as chief executive officer. There are now 8 women in the Fortune 100, an even more elite group.
I’m not saying be happy about this ratio. After all, it would be 50-50 if it were truly merit-based, because that’s how talent is distributed in the population.
But still, we celebrate these women, who know how to lead and are doing things that 50 years ago would have been impossible, other than through nominal inheritance.
So far in 2020, a total 7 new women have become CEOs of Fortune 500 companies (5 due to new placement, and 2 due to the growth and performance of companies they were already running).
Newly named women CEOs, in addition to Linda:
- Carol Tomé became CEO of UPS
- Heyward Donigan became CEO of Rite Aid
- Sonia Syngal became CEO of Gap Inc.
- Kristin C. Peck became CEO of Zoetis
- Jennifer Johnson became CEO of Franklin Resources.
New to the F500:
- Barbara R. Smith, Commercial Metals
- Nazzic S. Keene, Science Applications International.
Want more? See the full list.
“It would be 50-50 if it were truly merit-based, because that's how talent is distributed in the population.”
Frequently asked
Who became the 38th female Fortune 500 CEO, per this post?
How many women were in the Fortune 100 at the time of this post?
How many new women became Fortune 500 CEOs in 2020, according to the post?
References
- List of Women CEOs of Fortune 500 Companies— Wikipedia
- Fortune 500 List— Fortune
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