THIS YEAR'S LIST OF THE MOST POWERFUL WOMEN in business is the most comprehensive on record: a single worldwide list honoring 100 women. The list's new global scope and bigger scale recognize the nature of top executives' work-it spans the planet-as well as the near-record number of women who are leading companies on the Fortune 500, the largest in the U.S. by revenue, and the Fortune Global 500, the largest companies in the world.
In total, the list features 67 women with a CEO title, some of whom only recently stepped into the corner office. Margherita Della Valle became CEO of British telecom Vodafone in April. Sandy Ran Xu took over Chinese e-commerce titan JD.com in May. Vanessa Hudson assumed the CEO job at Australia's flagship carrier Qantas in September. All are the first women to hold their respective jobs.
Other executives listed here who are not yet CEO of their parent companies may be in the running to claim that seat soon. Dior chairman and CEO Delphine Arnault and Reliance Retail Ventures leader Isha Ambani, both heiresses to enormous family fortunes, are possible contenders to take over their respective family's sprawling empires: France's LVMH and India's Reliance Industries.
Still other execs are leading some of the world's most valuable startups. Canva CEO Melanie Perkins and Skims cofounder Kim Kardashian are atop unicorns that are worth $26 billion and $4 billion, respectively, and eyeing the public markets. Fidji Simo leads a company that just made that leap: Instacart's September IPO raised $660 million.
Who's not on the list is also notable. One absence is ex-Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer, who stepped down in August. Brewer was one of two Black female CEOs running Fortune 500 companies. TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett is now the only executive with that distinction.
This story is from the October - November 2023 edition of Fortune US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October - November 2023 edition of Fortune US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE NEW GOLD RUSH
Gold prices have soared amid global uncertainty and a central-bank-driven buying spree. But this time, the gold mining industry looks very different.
A New Season for Giving
As the PGA TOUR kicks off its 2025 season alongside its sponsors in Hawai'i, the organization is continuing to make an impact in local communities.
WELCOME TO ELONTOWN, USA
The small town of Bastrop, Texas (pop. 12,000), has become a home base for Elon Musk's business empire. What comes next is anyone's guess.
100 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE
Our inaugural, authoritative ranking of the leaders whose innovation and impact have elevated them to the top of the business world.
ARE CEO SABBATICALS THE ULTIMATE POWER MOVE?
WHEN VENTURE capitalist Jeremy Liew and his wife were dating, they talked about how one day they would take a year to travel the world. \"That's how we'd know we'd made it,\" Liew says.
WHAT ARE THE BEST METRICS FOR MEASURING A STARTUP'S POTENTIAL?
IN HIS 2012 ESSAY \"Startup = Growth,\" Paul Graham talks about a 5% to 7% weekly growth rate as table stakes for startup success. If you're growing 10%, he says, you're doing \"exceptionally well.\"
TECH POLYMARKET'S ELECTION ACCURACY MADE SHAYNE COPLAN A STAR-BUT AN FBI RAID POINTS TO TROUBLE AHEAD
IN NOVEMBER, Shayne Coplan had a week he'll remember for the rest of his life: He got a phone call from the highest echelons at Mar-a-Lago. He went on TV for the first time. And his New York City apartment was raided by the FBI.
WHY BIG TECH IS THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY'S NEW BEST FRIEND
OVER THE PAST several years, Big Tech firms like Google and Microsoft have trumpeted ambitious plans to go carbon-neutral, or even carbon-negative, by 2030. But then the generative-AI boom came along and threw a giant wrench in their plans.
WHAT PALMER LUCKEY, THE MAN REVOLUTIONIZING WARFARE, IS AFRAID OF
PALMER LUCKEY, the founder of the $14 billion Al-powered weapons startup Anduril, has become the face of change in the defense industry.
GLOBAL BUSINESS BRACES FOR TRUMP 2.0
AROUND THE WORLD in 2024, voters chose change: in South Africa, France, Britain, and Japan. But nowhere does the anti-incumbent trend matter more than in the United States.
