• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Most Powerful Women: The list about the list!

By
Jessica Shambora
Jessica Shambora
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jessica Shambora
Jessica Shambora
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 30, 2008, 4:11 PM ET

We’ve spent the last three months slicing and dicing the accomplishments and career histories of the most powerful women in business — far too many facts and figures to fit into our Most Powerful Women package in the magazine. Here are 10 intriguing facts that we couldn’t find space for in print:

Youngest woman to ever appear on the list: Marissa Mayer, VP of Search and User Experience at Google . At 33 years old, she lands in the No. 50 spot. Before Mayer, the youngest MPWoman ever was Sallie Krawcheck, age 37 in 2002 when she was CEO of Sanford C. Bernstein and debuted at No. 42.

Highest-profile dropoff: Krawcheck, who last week quit her CEO post at Citigroup , where she was chairman and CEO of Global Wealth Management.

Highest-ranking returnee: Safra Catz, co-president of Oracle at No. 16. Catz last appeared in 2005, at No. 49. She has impressively overseen 40-plus acquisitions and earned her way back to a top spot.

Highest-ranking newcomer: Susan Chambers, EVP of the Global People Division at Wal-Mart . Wal-Mart is not only the largest company in the world, it also employs the largest private workforce (over two million!), earning Chambers her spot at No. 25.

Non-CEOs in the top 10: Susan Arnold, No. 7, president of global business units at Procter & Gamble ; Oprah Winfrey, No. 8, chairman of her Harpo Inc. multimedia empire; and Ursula Burns, No. 10, president of Xerox . Burns will likely become CEO of Xerox next year, with Anne Mulcahy staying on as chairman.

Biggest leap at the top: Ellen Kullman, up from No. 25 to No. 15. Last week, she was named president and CEO designate at DuPont . Other major jumps: Heidi Miller, who heads J.P. Morgan Chase’s treasury and securities services unit, from No. 27 to 17, and TJX CEO Carol Meyrowitz, from No. 31 to 19. Her low-price retail chains are winning over shoppers in this sagging economy.

Consumer-goods bosses in the top 10: PepsiCo. CEO Indra Nooyi (No. 1), Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld (No. 2), Avon CEO Andrea Jung (No. 6), P&G’s Arnold (No. 7), and Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes (No. 9).

Only MPWoman who doesn’t run a major business or direct the strategy of a corporation: securities analyst Meredith Whitney (No. 35). Oppenheimer & Co.’s hugely influential market mover made the August 18 cover of Fortune for her prescient predictions of plummeting bank stocks.

Blasted off the list: Morgan Stanley (MS) co-president Zoe Cruz (No. 16 last year) and VMware CEO Diane Greene (No. 22 last year) were fired.

One woman worth watching, still: Erin Callan, whom we identified as a 2007 “woman to watch,” lost the CFO job at Lehman Brothers in June and found refuge at Credit Suisse , where she now heads the firm’s global hedge fund business. Callan didn’t make our list this year, but she certainly knows power, as she demonstrates in her first interview since leaving Lehman. Read Katie Benner’s exclusive Q&A. – Jessica Shambora

About the Author
By Jessica Shambora
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in blogging

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Fortune EditorsApril 3, 2026
20 hours ago
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
Real Estate
Gen Z fled San Francisco for Texas and Florida. Now they’re turning ‘welcomer cities’ into the next big tech towns
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
2 days ago
The Walmart billionaires next door: Quiet backlash is brewing against the heirs who remade the retailer’s hometown
Magazine
The Walmart billionaires next door: Quiet backlash is brewing against the heirs who remade the retailer’s hometown
By Fortune EditorsApril 3, 2026
23 hours ago
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
Success
Major 4-day workweek study suggests that when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of April 2, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 2, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 2, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of April 3, 2026
By Fortune EditorsApril 3, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.