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
TOP NEWS
Reach for the SKKY
Kim Kardashian, fresh off her success with apparel startup Skims, is now breaking into private equity. Kardashian is working with Jay Sammons, a 16-year veteran of private equity firm Carlyle, to launch SKKY Partners and a $1 billion fund to invest in consumer businesses. Kardashian describes her ideal company to Fortune’s Emma Hinchliffe: One with an active founder and an authentic voice–and not one that copies Kardashian’s existing aesthetic. Fortune
The other AI chipmaker
AMD is hoping to ride the AI boom and “write the next chapter of the AMD growth story,” AMD CEO Lisa Su tells Fortune’s David Meyer. With Nvidia’s processors in short supply, AMD will release its own AI chip this quarter. Despite generating almost as much revenue as its competitor Nvidia last year, AMD shares are up just 63% so far this year, compared to 208% for Nvidia. Fortune
Who’s helping Huawei?
Taiwan’s government said it would investigate four companies named in a Bloomberg report for helping blacklisted Chinese tech company Huawei build its own chip plants. The Chinese tech company recently released a new 5G smartphone, despite U.S. curbs barring it from buying cutting edge chips and chipmaking equipment. That’s worrying officials like Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who told Congress yesterday that she needs “different tools” to enforce U.S. rules. Nikkei Asia
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Unicorn Carta sees lawsuits stack up as two more female employees make serious claims against company by Jessica Mathews
Digital culture guru Taylor Lorenz’s new book reveals how the Instagram influencer ‘floodgates’ really opened: a backfiring FTC crackdown by Taylor Lorenz
Janet Yellen: Surprisingly resilient American consumers blocked a recession—and now the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer by Fortune Editors
You’ve heard of the ‘girlboss’, now meet ‘snail girl’: The latest workplace trend wants female workers to slow down—and career experts approve by Orianna Rosa Royle
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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