There are 31 female-led companies in the S&P 500, meaning only around 6% of the CEOs are women. Worldwide, the number is not much more optimistic with around 31% of executive officers being women. Though there is still ground to cover in achieving a better representation of women in business, here's a look at the successful female CEOs of the S&P 500, leading the way for more to come.
Safra Catz (Oracle)
Safra Catz attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania for her bachelor's degree and earned a J.D. from the university's Law School. She later joined Wall Street and held investment banking positions for 14 years, with a focus on the software industry. Catz joined Oracle in 1999 and navigated the company through its 130+ aggressive acquisitions. She served both as the President, and CFO before taking on the role of CEO in 2014. She is currently the director of The Walt Disney Company and one of the Most Powerful Women in Business (Fortune 2009, Forbes 2014).
2. Christine Leahy (CDW Corporation)
After graduating from Brown University with her bachelor's degree, Leahy later acquired her J.D. from Boston College Law School. She also completed multiple leadership programs at the Kellogg School of Management. Leahy has served in executive leadership positions for more than 20 years with the CDW Corporation. Previously the company's senior vice president, and then the chief revenue officer, Leahy became CDW Corporation's CEO in 2019. She is the founder of the Women's Opportunity Network (WON), a business resource group with a mission to guide and empower women at CDW.
3. Lisa Su (AMD - Advanced Micro Devices)
President and CEO of AMD Lisa Su obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Electrical Engineering. She got her PhD from MIT as well and became one of the first researchers to look into SOI technology. Prior to her role at AMD, she worked at Texas Instruments and spent 13 years at IBM, holding leadership positions in business and engineering. Su joined AMD in 2012 as the Senior Vice President and later served as COO before being promoted to CEO in 2014. She currently holds positions on the boards of Cisco Systems and the U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association. She was named one of the World's Greatest Leaders (Fortune 2017).
4. Julie Sweet (Accenture)
Sweet attended Claremont Mckenna College for her bachelor's and got her J.D. from Columbia Law School. She is chair and CEO of Accenture. She started her professional career as an attorney and later became a partner. Sweet was later recruited as the CEO of Accenture's North America business before becoming CEO (2019) and Chair (2021). In addition to Accenture, she served on the boards of the World Economic Forum, Catalyst, and more. She has been named one of the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America (Fortune 2020, New York Times 2019).
5. Jayshree Ullal (Arista Networks)
After Obtaining her bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from San Francisco State University, Ullal attended Santa Clara University for her master's. She served as a strategic development engineer, director, and vice president in multiple companies before joining Cisco. Here, she spent 15 years eventually becoming Senior Vice President. In 2008, she was named CEO and Chair of Arista Networks. Her work led to the company's IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (ANET) in 2014. Ullal was dubbed One of the Most Influential People in the Networking Industry (Forbes, 2011), Fortune's Top 20 Business Persons (2019), and one of Barron's World's Best CEOs (2018).
With their exceptional work, these women have shaped the technology industry today. Their bold stances, strategic decisions in times of crisis, and innovative approaches in the workspace have allowed them to become influential leaders. They have advocated for diversity, and inspired the next generation of female leaders. We hope to see more women following their footsteps and continuing to drive positive change in the industry.
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