Although the number of women in charge of Fortune 500 companies has dropped from 24 to 21 within a year, it still equates to a 4.2 percentage of women as Fortune 500 women business leaders. This is small in comparison to the 95.8% of men who hold prestigious leadership positions within Fortune 500 companies. However, considering that, in 1998, only one woman led a Fortune 500 company, the trend of women as company leaders is on the rise.
CNN Money predicts a rise in future women business leaders, albeit a slow progression. Because more women are entering into highly-acclaimed leadership roles for some of the most well-known companies in the United States, other women may see this as an opportunity to continue to break stereotypes and feel confident in entering higher leadership roles.
Fortune Magazine ranks Fortune 500 companies according to their total revenues for the prior fiscal year. The following top 5 women business leaders are CEOs for Fortune 500 companies ranked within the top 16% of the list.
Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO of General Motors Company
Mary T. Barra began her journey with the General Motors Company (GM) in 1980, when she was a student of General Motors Institute, graduating with an electrical engineering degree and, later, a Master’s in Business Adminstration. Between her two degrees, she was granted a GM fellowship in 1988.
Barra has since held several positions within the GM company, including Executive Director of Competitive Operations Engineering, Plant Manager of Detroit Hamtramck Assembly, and Vice President positions for Global Human Resources and Global Manufacturing Engineering. In 2011 and 2013, respectively, Barra earned the titles of Senior Vice President and Executive Vice President before becoming the CEO of General Motors Company in January 2015.
As CEO, Mary Barra has held a list of accomplishments, such as breaking record profits of GM for 2015 and becoming the first woman CEO of a major auto-making company. GM’s rank in the Fortune 500 list dropped by two points, from 6 to 8, from 2014 to 2015. However, Barra continues to be one of the most respected Fortune 500 women business leaders in the United States for her role in General Motors. About a year after becoming CEO, Barra was also elected chairman of GM.
Mary Barra is listed as #5 on Forbes’ list of Power Women in 2016 and #65 on its Powerful People list in 2015.
Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President, and CEO of IBM
Ginni Rometty’s company, IBM, is number 31 on the Fortune 500 list for 2015. Rometty is ranked as #11 on Forbes’ Power Women list for 2016 and #63, just above Mary Barra, on its 2015 Powerful People list.
Upon graduating from Northwestern University in 1979, Rometty first took a role with the General Motors Institute. Ginni Rometty then began working for IBM in 1981 in a Detroit office and has since held several leadership positions within the company. Early in her career with IBM, Rometty held the title of Senior Vice President of IBM Global Business Services before becoming president and CEO of the company in January 2012.
Later that year in October, Rometty took the position of chairman of IBM after its chairman retired. Rometty helped mold the company into what it is today with her merging of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting into IBM, helping to create a global team of personal service companies and professionals.
Many experts feel that Ginni Rometty was doomed to fail in her position as CEO of IBM. However, she has thus far proven to make big changes to the company to move it forward with modern times and take it to the next level of technology.
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
Indra Nooyi, CEO and chairman of PepsiCo, ranks #14 on Forbes’ 2016 Powerful Women list. PepsiCo is the #44 Fortune 500 company for both 2014 and 2015. Nooyi is one of the longest-running women CEOs on the list, gaining the title in 2006 and chairman the following year.
Nooyi has a long history of high-leadership positions for previous companies she has worked for, such as Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning for Motorola and a product management position for Johnson & Johnson. Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994, holding the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning until 1996.
Before becoming CEO and chairman, Indra Nooyi held several other titles within PepsiCo, including Chief Financial Officer and President immediately prior to her promotion.
Nooyi has since made strides to change the way in which people perceive PepsiCo as a company. She has taken charge of Performance with a Purpose, an effort by PepsiCo to help the environment and committing to sustainability. She has also changed the focus of PepsiCo from mainly soda products to other carbonated and un-carbonated drinks and waters to promote healthier lifestyles.
Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President, and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation
Marillyn Hewson attended both the Columbia Business School and Harvard Business School before becoming an employee of the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1983. Some of the most notable of her several held positions at the company include President of Lockheed Martin Logistics Services, Executive Vice President of Global Sustainment for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and President of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration.
Hewson was promoted to CEO of the Lockheed Martin Corporation in January 2013 and has since been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” by Fortune magazine for four years and, in 2016, was ranked #24 on Forbes’ Power Women list.
Since becoming CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation has seen significant stock growth and has been expanded into other countries like India.
Hewson has held a number of other notable positions on prominent boards, like the Board of Directors of Carpenter Technology Corporation and Board of Directors of DuPont. President Barack Obama also appointed Hewson to the President’s Export Council to help oversee international trade.
In 2015, Hewson made a risky but beneficial decision to purchase Sikorsky Aircraft for Lockheed Martin Corporation, which granted the company the ability to craft its own helicopters. Hewson is also making strides toward allowing the company to have a hand in crafting military hardware.
Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle
Becoming CEO of Oracle in September 2014 has not slowed down Safra Catz, who has one of the world’s highest salaries attained by a woman at $53.2 million. Catz also served on the HSBC Holdings board of directors from 2008 through 2015 and has also been a member of Oracle’s board of directors since 2001.
Oracle jumped from 81 to 77 from 2014 to 2015 on the Fortune 500 list since Catz has become CEO, in part because of Catz’ ability to help secure 85 acquisitions for Oracle in the past few years.
Before holding the position of CEO of Oracle, Safra Catz held several prestigious positions in and out of the company. Catz was Non Executive Director of Hyperion Solutions Corp, a Member of Executive Council of TechNet, and Managing Director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Within Oracle, she held the position of President and Chief Financial Officer.
Catz was ranked 20th on Forbes’ 2016 Power Women list and 28th on Forbes’ 2016 America’s Self-Made Women list.
These Fortune 500 women business leaders have had extensive careers and experience in their areas of expertise and continue to make ground-breaking moves for their companies to change the way the world views their companies and women business leaders. They may only be a small percentage of Fortune 500 company leaders, but these five powerful women are sure to change the face of strong leadership.