The saying women make better leaders might be so true looking at these 10 women, who are CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies.
The following are world’s most powerful women in the world:
1. Mary Barra
Chairperson and CEO, General Motors, 55
Roaring into No. 1 for her third straight year, Barra remains in the driver’s seat even as crosstown rival Ford ousted CEO Mark Fields in May. Proving that GM won’t be counted out in this era of disruption, she beat Tesla’s much-hyped Model 3 to market with the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which launched in 2016 with a battery that can outlast Tesla’s; it’s now the top-selling non-luxury pure electric car. Barra also has her eyes on a driverless future: After acquiring self-driving tech startup Cruise Automation last year, GM has begun testing autonomous Bolts, and its new car-Âsharing service Maven is offering deals to Uber and Lyft drivers. The stock is starting to respond, climbing 25% over the past 12 months, and revenue ticked up 9% in 2016—GM’s biggest sales growth in years.
2. Indra Nooyi
Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo, 61
PepsiCo filled the long-Âvacant role of president in July, sparking talk that the CEO might be heading toward retirement. But Nooyi claims she has no plans to step down, and why should she? While revenue was flat in 2016, profits jumped 16%, and the stock has outpaced most of its Big Food brethren as the industry tries to adjust to massive consumer shifts. Nooyi has responded by moving the portfolio toward healthier fare. The company recently launched a premium water line and in 2016 acquired kombucha maker KeVita.
3. Marillyn Hewson
Chairperson, President, and CEO, Lockheed Martin, 63
While President Trump has called Lockheed’s F-35 fighter-jet program too expensive, the Commander-in-Chief remains an invaluable—if fickle—ally for the company, which counts
the U.S. government as its biggest customer. The contractor is also a prime beneficiary of the White House’s defense budget increase, as well as new arms deals with the likes of Saudi Arabia: Lockheed’s stock price has risen some 26% over the past year, handily beating the S&P, while revenue jumped 17% in 2016.
4. Abigail Johnson
Chairperson and CEO, Fidelity Investments, 55
Fidelity posted $15.9 billion in revenue in 2016—its fourth consecutive record year—while assets under administration climbed some 11%, to $5.7 trillion. Yet it is still struggling to stop the bleeding from its actively managed equity mutual funds; investors pulled $58 billion out of the products last year. In response, Johnson, who assumed her father’s chairman title in 2016, is goosing other parts of the business—Âlowering fees on passive Âinvesting products and allowing customers to track their Bitcoin holdings.
5. Sheryl Sandberg
COO, Facebook, 48
Facebook’s blockbuster 2016 ad revenue growth (57%, to $26.9 billion) propelled the company—and its stock price—to new heights under Sandberg. While Facebook and its Internet peers grappled with how to handle fake news and online hate groups, the fiery political environment pushed Sandberg to speak up more frequently about issues important to her, including women’s health and immigration reform. Her book about grief and the loss of her husband, Option B, topped the bestseller list this spring.