Good morning.
Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list is out this morning, and it not only shows how far women have come in the quarter century since this list was created, but also how important they are in driving business and societal change. No. 1 on the list is CVS CEO Karen Lynch, who is trying to remake health care by melding insurance + pharmacies + health clinics + home health care. No. 2 is Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, who is the leading voice for advising businesses on how to navigate the AI revolution. No. 3 is GM CEO Mary Barra, whose bold statement in 2021 to eliminate all carbon emissions from her company’s cars by 2035 has transformed not only the company, but the industry. And No. 4 is Citi CEO Jane Fraser, who is trying to show testosterone-soaked New York bankers how empathy can be a powerful tool for transforming business.
You can find the full list here. Pay attention to how well these women have penetrated the most important sectors of the economy—from logistics (No. 6 UPS CEO Carol Tomé) to pharmaceuticals (No. 7 GSK CEO Emma Walmsley) to tech (No. 8 Google CFO Ruth Porat, No. 11 Oracle CEO Safra Catz and No. 12 AMD CEO Lisa Su) to finance (No. 16 TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Ducket and No. 19 Banco Santander executive chairman Ana Botín) to the defense industry (No. 20 Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden and No. 21 General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic).
All told, there are still only 52 of the Fortune 500 led by women…barely over 10%. But a new report out this morning from McKinsey shows women’s representation in the C-Suite reached 28% this year…the highest it has ever been. You can read the full report here.
And a bit of personal news this morning: I told the Fortune team yesterday that I will be stepping out of the CEO role at the end of April next year. Read why here.
Other news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
