Aug 23, 2017
10 Largest Companies Led by Women CEOs as of 2017

Although a woman hasn’t yet broken the ultimate glass ceiling to become president of the U.S., women have broken through quite a few glass ceilings in the corporate world, increasingly occupying the C-suite as top executives of major corporations.
And there’s additional reason to take heart. The number of women in top MBA programs is steadily climbing, reaching 40% at top business schools including Harvard and Yale in recent years..
While women haven’t come close to parity with men on the Fortune 500, there are currently 32 women leading about 6.5% of the country’s largest companies. Here’s a look at the women leading 10 of the largest companies by revenue.
All company revenue data is for 2016.
10. Lynn Good, CEO of Duke Energy Corp (DUK)
Good joined Duke Energy in 2006, following the company’s merger with Ohio-based energy company Cinergy. Good was appointed CEO in 2013. She recently became vice chair of the Edison Electric Institute, the energy industry’s trade association. Duke Energy ranks No. 121 on the Fortune 500, with approximately $23 billion in revenue.
9. Tricia Griffith, CEO of Progressive Corp (PGR)
Tricia Griffith became CEO of Progressive in July, 2016. She began her career at the company as a claims representative in 1988. Griffith, earned an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 2015. She oversees the fourth-largest auto insurer in the U.S. Progressive ranks No. 120 on the Fortune 500, with $25 billion in annual revenue.
8. Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Mondelez International (MDLZ)
Irene Rosenfeld was appointed CEO of Mondelez in 2011, following Kraft Food’s spinoff of its snack line as a separate business unit. Rosenfeld has spent 35 years in various roles in the food industry, and is set to step down from Mondelez in November. Mondelez ranks No. 109 on the Fortune 500, with revenue of $25.5 billion.
7. Phebe Novakovic, CEO of General Dynamics Corp. (GD)
Phebe Novakovic joined General Dynamics in 2001, becoming CEO of the global defense giant in 2013. Novakovic’s background includes a post at Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). General Dynamics is No. 90 on the Fortune 500, with $31 billion in annual revenue.
6. Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle Corp (ORCL)
Safra Catz was the highest paid CEO in 2016, earning a reported $41 million annually, helping the IT firm to earn nearly $38 billion in annual revenue. Catz joined the company in 1999, becoming CEO in 2014 when Oracle founder Larry Ellison stepped down. Catz has an estimated personal net worth of $670 million. Oracle ranks No. 81 on the Fortune 500 list.
5. Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard (HPE)
Meg Whitman has been HP’s CEO since 2011. Whitman, who has degrees from Harvard and Princeton, was previously the CEO at eBay, where she helped the online auction company increase annual revenue to $8 billion from $4 million in just 10 years. HP ranks No. 59 on the Fortune 500, with revenue of $39.7 billion.
4. Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Hewson joined Lockheed Martin more than 30 years ago as an industrial engineer, and was named CEO in 2013. In 2016, Hewson ranked as the third most powerful woman in business by Fortune magazine Lockheed Martin ranks No. 56 on the Fortune 500, with revenue of $49 billion
3. Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. (PEP)
Indra Nooyi has been Pepsi’s CEO since 2006, and chairman of the board since 2007. She led the divestiture of YUM! Brands from Pepsi, along with the acquisition of Tropicana and the company’s merger with Quaker Oats within the last 10 years. Pepsi ranks No. 44 on the Fortune 500, with revenue of $63.3 billion.
2. Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM (IBM)
Ginni Rometty has led IBM for the past four years, and helped oversee the technology giant’s acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers when she was general manager of IBM’s consulting services unit. Rometty holds degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern and has been with IBM since 1981. IBM ranks No. 32 on the Fortune 500, with revenue of $78.4 billion.
1. Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors (GM)
Mary Barra has been CEO since 2014, and became the automaker’s chairman in 2016. Barra’s career at GM spans over 35 years. She started as a student at Kettering University, formerly the General Motors Institute, in 1980. She has a degree in electrical engineering, and an MBA from the Stanford School of Business. GM is No. 8 on the Fortune 500, with revenue over $166 billion.
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