For the first time in history, Fortune ranked the world’s top CEOs and leaders who also happen to be LGBTQ+. As part of our extensive research for the list, our teams also identified another 10 up-and-coming leaders, who we think are tipped for future success in the C-suite.
Leaders featured below span the globe, from Megan J. Smith, former U.S. CTO under Barack Obama and now founder and CEO of her consulting firm, shift7, to Hungarian-Swedish entrepreneur Peter Arvai, cofounder and former CEO of software company Prezi. Under Arvai’s leadership, Prezi made history in 2010 as the first company to march in the Budapest Pride Parade, a bold move given Hungary’s controversial stance on LGBTQ+ rights. Our ones to watch also spotlight Dow’s North and South America presidents—Louis Vega and Javier Constante, both of whom are openly gay, alongside Dow’s CEO, Jim Fitterling, who shines bright on our LGBTQ+ Leaders list (ranked #2). Who knew the materials science industry could be so colorful?
Below are Fortune’s top picks (listed alphabetically). While these leaders didn’t make the final list this year, we believe they’re on track for great things in the future.
Peter Arvai
Title: Chair and Cofounder
Company: Prezi
Location: U.S.
Arvai is chair and cofounder of Hungarian presentation software company, Prezi. In defiance of Hungary’s increasingly hostile environment for the LGBTQ+ community, in 2010 Prezi became the first company to march in the Budapest Pride Parade. In 2013 Arvai cofounded NGO ‘WeAreOpen’ to promote openness in workplaces.
Javier Constante
Title: President
Company: Dow – Latin America
Location: Brazil
Constante has served as President of Dow Latin America since 2019 and is a member of Dow’s President Inclusion Council. He is also a board member of the Forum de Empresas e Direitos LGBTI+ and promotes inclusion across Brazil.
Olfert de Wit
Title: COO
Company: HSBC Continental Europe
Location: France
De Wit joined HSBC in 2015 as a senior advisor and has climbed the ranks to COO at HSBC Continental Europe. He is the executive sponsor of the bank’s Pride Network and a founding donor of the U.K. LGBTQI charity, GiveOut.
John Elliott
Title: CTO
Company: Sainsbury’s
Location: U.K.
Elliott has over 20 years of experience in retail technology, with stints at Accenture and Oracle. He was named Sainsbury’s CTO in January 2023 and sponsors the Sainsbury’s and Argos LGBT+ Colleague Network, the U.K.’s most active colleague network, and advocates internationally for the LGBTQ+ community.
Christine Rauh
Title: Managing Director
Company: Accenture DACH
Location: Switzerland
Rauh is Managing Director, Data and AI sales in the DACH region for Accenture. She has held various inclusion and diversity leadership roles throughout her career and is a co-sponsor of Accenture’s Global Pride Network.
Susie Scher
Title: Partner – North America
Company: Goldman Sachs
Location: U.S.
Scher became a senior advisor at Goldman Sachs in 2024. Throughout her 27 years at the investment bank she championed the launch of a diverse managing director initiative and helped to develop the firmwide LGBTQ+ network.
Allyn L. Shaw
Title: COO
Company: Wells Fargo
Location: U.S.
Shaw is the COO of Wells Fargo’s Consumer & GenAI Tech Group and serves as a public policy speaker for the U.S. State Department. He describes himself as a “staunch advocate for leveraging technology to benefit society and the environment” and is the chair of Out & Equal, The Center and Victory Fund—organizations committed to advancing LGBTQ+ rights.
Megan J. Smith
Title: CEO
Company: Shift7
Location: U.S.
Smith is a tech trailblazer. From 2014-2017 she served as CTO for the United States government under Barack Obama and spent 11 years as Vice President for new business at Google. She is now CEO and founder of shift7, a consulting group addressing complex challenges across private technology and public institutions.
Rick Suarez
Title: President
Company: AstraZeneca – Spain
Location: Spain
Over a 25-year-long career at AstraZeneca, Suarez rose to become the company’s president in Spain in 2020. He is the executive sponsor of the LGBTQA employee resource group which has driven changes in company benefits to support all definitions of families.
Louis Vega
Title: President
Company: Dow – North America
Location: U.S.
A 20-year veteran at Dow, Vega oversees 35,000 employees as President, North America and proudly champions diversity and inclusion. He serves as executive advisor to GLAD, Dow’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group.
Explore the top 25 LGBTQ+ leaders list here, along with additional coverage:
- How Paramount Global’s two openly-gay CEOs are blazing a trail, and helping the next generation
- Trans+ employees are not alone in bearing the burden of bigotry—it costs employers, too
- Ken Ohashi: From bankruptcy to billion dollar boom at Brooks Brothers
A version of this article appears in the October/November 2024 issue of Fortune.
