Fortune 500 CEOs by gender over time
Over the last 10 years, 50-75% of Fortune 500 Women CEOs have been promoted from within their company [3] .
This is a list of Women CEOs of the Fortune 500, based on the magazine's 2024 list (updated yearly). [1] [2] As of Sept, 2024, women were CEOs at 10.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
Over the last 10 years, 50-75% of Fortune 500 Women CEOs have been promoted from within their company [3] .
A chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest officer charged with the management of an organization – especially a company or nonprofit institution.
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along with privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. The concept of the Fortune 500 was created by Edgar P. Smith, a Fortune editor, and the first list was published in 1955. The Fortune 500 is more commonly used than its subset Fortune 100 or superset Fortune 1000.
Indra Nooyi is an Indian-born American business executive who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2018.
Marissa Ann Mayer is an American business executive and investor who served as president and chief executive officer of Yahoo! from 2012 to 2017. She was a long-time executive, usability leader and key spokesperson for Google. Mayer later co-founded Sunshine, a startup technology company.
Rosalind G. Brewer is an American businesswoman and former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, before stepping down in September 2023. Brewer is the first woman to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, group president and COO of Starbucks, and CEO of Sam's Club. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council.
Andrew Wilson is an Australian businessman who has been the CEO of Electronic Arts (EA) since September 2013. He has also been chairman of the company since 2021.
Katrina "Kat" Cole is an American businesswoman. She is the CEO of AG1, formerly known as Athletic Greens. She was previously the chief operating officer and president of North America for Focus Brands and the president of Focus Brands' subsidiary Cinnabon, an American chain of retail bakeries specializing in cinnamon buns. Earlier in her career, she was the executive vice president of Hooters.
Lisa Tzwu-Fang Su is an American billionaire business executive and electrical engineer who is president, chief executive officer (CEO), and the chair of the semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Kathleen "Kathy" Mazzarella has been the Chief Executive and President of Graybar Electric Co. since June 1, 2012. In addition, she has been the Chairman of Graybar Electric Co. since January 1, 2013. As of May 2020, she is one of only 37 women CEOs of the Fortune 500.
Dame Emma Natasha Walmsley is the chief executive officer (CEO) of GlaxoSmithKline. She succeeded Sir Andrew Witty, who retired in March 2017. Before GSK, she worked for L'Oréal for 17 years, and was a non-executive director of Diageo until September 2016. She grew up in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England.
Julia Hartz is an American entrepreneur, investor, and the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite, a global ticketing and event technology platform. She is known for her leadership of Eventbrite during the COVID-19 pandemic and empowering women in the technology industry. Hartz was selected as one of Fortune magazine's most powerful women entrepreneurs. Hartz is Jewish.
Joey Chui Yung Wat is the chief executive officer of Yum China. She also was CEO of KFC China, managing director of A.S. Watson Group UK, and spent seven years in management consulting.
Julie Terese Sweet is an American business executive and attorney. She is chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of Accenture, a multinational professional services company.
Beth E. Ford is an American businessperson. Ford is most notable for being the CEO of Land O'Lakes, an American agricultural cooperative which she assumed leadership of in 2018. She is the first openly gay female CEO of an American Fortune 500 company. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council. In 2023. She was ranked 26th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women.
Revathi Advaithi is an Indian-born American business executive. She is the CEO of Flex and an advocate for women in STEM and in the workplace.
Karen S. Lynch is an American businesswoman and the president and chief executive officer of CVS Health. Lynch serves on the board of directors of AHIP, CVS Health, and U.S. Bancorp. In 2015, she became the first female president of Aetna. She has held executive positions at Magellan Health Services and Cigna. In 2021, she became the highest-ranking female chief executive on the Fortune 500 list. She currently serves as a member of the President's Export Council, The Business Council, the Business Roundtable, and other organizations.
Rachel Romer is the co-founder and former CEO of Guild.
Sarah Jane Friar is a business executive from Northern Ireland who is the chief financial officer of OpenAI since June 2024. She was the chief executive officer of American technology company Nextdoor from 2018 through 2024, and was chief financial officer of Block, Inc. between 2012 and 2018.
Toni Townes-Whitley is a global technology professional, known for being one of two Black female Fortune 500 CEOs. She has received various awards throughout her tenure to include "Woman of the Year" for her impact on the community. She is currently the CEO of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
PAPAYA Global is a fintech SaaS company that specializes in global workforce payroll and payments. The company was founded in 2016 by Eynat Guez, Ruben Drong, and Ofer Herman. Eynat Guez is the CEO and has been since the company was established. The company gained unicorn status in 2021. In March 2022, Papaya Global acquired Azimo.