20 Most Powerful Women
Talk about drama! Our 11th annual list is dominated by firsts (first woman to run a major U.S. oil company), superlatives (youngest honoree ever) and notable departures (Citi's Sallie Krawcheck steps down as the most watched woman on Wall Street).
Age: 52
Nooyi has moved swiftly to offset slowing beverage sales in North America by expanding the international business, which now represents 26% of revenues. She is also pushing healthier products like orange juice with omega-3 fatty acids. In a tough market, the stock is flat vs. a year ago.
Age: 55
When she took the helm of the food and beverage giant, Rosenfeld implemented a three-year plan she calls "the big cheese of all turnarounds." She's plowing money into brand building, empowering local managers in developing countries, and launching more ready-to-eat fare such as heat-and-serve Deli Creations flatbread sandwiches. This year the stock, which has remained relatively flat, replaced AIG on the Dow, and Warren Buffett recently upped his stake to 9%.
Age: 55
Doubts about ethanol and higher corn costs pushed ADM's stock down 28% over the past year. Still, Woertz's $70 billion "supermarket to the world" ranks ahead of giants like PepsiCo and Intel on the Fortune 500. And according to analysts, conditions aren't nearly as poor as the stock price indicates.
Age: 55
A tough business climate sent Xerox's stock back to its 2006 levels, but Mulcahy is widely lauded for pulling off a full-scale turnaround since taking over in 2001. Xerox ranks No. 3 on the Fortune 500 in terms of profit growth over five years. Ursula Burns, No. 10, is Mulcahy's heir apparent.
Age: 47
Braly's first year as CEO of Wellpoint has been tough. Second-quarter earnings were down 10%, and the stock has dropped 40% over the past year because of declining enrollment in its core business. Still, Wellpoint is the largest woman-led company in the U.S. in terms of revenue.
Age: 50
As part of a three-year extreme makeover, Jung trimmed management, invested $100 million in research facilities, and tripled ad spending. In China, Avon has doubled the number of direct-selling reps to 700,000. The stock is up 15% in the past year, and Avon's second-quarter performance was the best since the turnaround began. Jung recently became the only female member of Apple's board.
Age: 54
P&G COO Bob MacDonald now has the inside track to succeed A.G. Lafley, but don't be surprised if Arnold, who started at P&G in 1980, goes on to run another Fortune 500 company. Recent appointments to the Disney and McDonald's boards burnish her résumé.
Chairman
Harpo
2007 rank: 8Harpo
Age: 54
Oprah's next launch? OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, which will debut in more than 70 million homes next September. Although her magazine's circulation has fallen 10% in the past three years, it remains the advertising leader in its category.
Age: 54
Barnes has spent three years on a cost-cutting tear, shedding underperforming units that accounted for 40% of revenue. Still, the stock is down 18% over 12 months. Barnes is trying to celebrate, though: She tailgates at Notre Dame games with Sara Lee products.
Age: 50
When Anne Mulcahy passes the reins to Burns, it will mark the first Fortune 500 woman-to-woman CEO handoff in history. Burns is well prepared to tackle the job: The 28-year company veteran already oversees R&D, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing, and also sits on the board of American Express.
Age: 50
Tapped in 2004 to transform an underperforming unit, she turned the Solutions Group into the leading source of revenue at HP, contributing $37.7 billion, or 36%, of HP's total. A reorganization following the recent acquisition of EDS will shrink Livermore's unit, but it's a strategic move she supports.
Age: 50
Hannah Montana. The Jonas Brothers' Camp Rock. High School Musical. Need we say more? It was a banner year for Sweeney's Disney Channel tween stars, who helped her division power $4.3 billion in operating profits, a 23% gain from the previous year.
Age: 51
Desmond-Hellmann has presided over a remarkable era of cancer-fighting drugs at Genentech since ascending to management in 1999. Last year marked Genentech's tenth straight year of double-digit revenue growth, to $11.7 billion, while its stock climbed 15%. One wrinkle: Big shareholder Roche is attempting a takeover.
Age: 51
Rometty is one reason the tech giant's stock is outpacing the market (up 2%, vs. the S&P 500's 18% decline this past year). Her $18 billion division, which automates complex services for clients in areas from HR to insurance-claim processing, has posted year-over-year profit increases for ten straight quarters.
Age: 52
Just named president and slated to become CEO on Jan. 1, Kullman jumps ten spots on our list this year. Besides taking charge of $30.6 billion in revenue, this 20-year DuPont vet sits on the General Motors board.
Age: 46
As Larry Ellison's right-hand woman overseeing day-to-day operations, Catz has led Oracle through more than 40 acquisitions in four years and has helped deliver four years of EPS growth of 20% or more annually. Catz hands off her CFO position on Oct. 1 and will oversee her successor.
Age: 55
Amid a financial meltdown, J.P. Morgan Chase orchestrated a buyout of Bear Stearns and has seen its stock fall just 1% over the past year. Miller's $7 billion division, which provides cash-management and custodial services, isn't linked to the credit cycle. So the bank relies on this big, stable business during difficult times. Miller delivered 2007 net profits of $1.4 billion, up 62% from 2005.
Age: 56
Her portfolio of cable channels -- including MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon -- reach more than 560 million households around the globe. Facing challenges from emerging networks and new media, McGrath has taken her properties out of the box with projects like Nick-branded resorts and a virtual world for fans of MTV's The Hills--now the No. 1 original cable series. But Viacom's stock is down 31% in 12 months, and some are wondering if McGrath, a 27-year MTV vet, will stick around. One rumor has her running Oprah's new TV network, but it's unlikely that McGrath would leave New York City for California.
Age: 54
Shoppers on budgets have flocked to TJX (its low-price chains include T.J. Maxx and Marshalls). Sales were up 7% in fiscal 2008, and the company recently increased earnings targets for fiscal 2009. TJX weathered a major security breach that cost an estimated $200 million; the stock is up 2% over the past year
Age: 58
Amid the magazine downturn, Moore has shifted from creating new brands to expanding existing ones internationally and in new channels. (She just debuted Maghound, a Netflix-like service for magazines.) Although the websites of Time Inc.'s titles (which includePeople, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune) are attracting more users and ad revenue, the company posted a 15% decline in operating income in the second quarter.
reference: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/fortune
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