October 19, 2020
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Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party wins big in New Zealand, Nextdoor may be seeking an IPO, and we debut Fortune‘s 2020 Most Powerful Women list. Have a powerful Monday.
– The fab 50. It’s a big day for those of us on Fortune’s MPW team: Our 2020 list of the Most Powerful Women in Business went live this morning. (This is our domestic list—the international ranking will publish later this week.)
This year has been like no other—and it was clear to us that this year’s ranking, too, must break the old rules and evolve to meet the moment. So, for the first time in the list’s 23-year history (!!) we’ve changed our methodology and added a new consideration: In addition to weighing the power of each executive (by evaluating her business, career arc and influence), we asked how she is wielding that clout. Is she, in this time of global crisis and uncertainty, using her influence to shape her company and the wider world for the better?
Gratifyingly, for many of the business world’s leading female executives, the answer was a resounding yes.
This year’s No. 1, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, leads not only a massive company—more than half a million employees and a market cap of nearly $150 billion—but one that is devoted to helping its clients navigate the new digital world order, a task that became all the more urgent due to the pandemic.
She’s joined in the top 10 by executives including Carol Tomé (No. 5), who took the reins at UPS at a moment when the shipping giant is playing an increasingly critical role in the coronavirus economy; incoming Citi CEO Jane Fraser (No. 6), who is poised to break banking’s highest, hardest glass ceiling; and Best Buy CEO Corie Barry (No. 9), who took aggressive steps to keep her employees safe—and has been rewarded with strong business performance.
One of the distinguishing factors of this year’s list is the number of new faces: 13 of our honorees are newbies to the ranking, while two others are making a triumphant return in brand new jobs. Many of these women are playing major roles when it comes to building more socially and environmentally conscious companies: Consider Apple sustainability head Lisa Jackson (No. 35)—she’s responsible for ensuring the tech juggernaut hits its goal of being carbon neutral by 2020—and Intel chief diversity and inclusion officer Barbara Whye (No. 40), whose company reflects the true composition of the U.S. workforce and is working to set diversity standards for the tech industry as a whole.
Covering industries ranging from space exploration to book publishing, and highlighting women who are using their power in myriad ways, we believe the 2020 ranking is more diverse and dynamic than any we have published before. We hope you’ll take a moment to explore it.
Kristen Bellstrom and Beth Kowitt
kristen.bellstrom@fortune.com, beth.kowitt@fortune.com
@kayelbee, @bethkowitt
Today’s Broadsheet was curated by Emma Hinchliffe.
A note from Fortune's editor-in-chief
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Inside the Bubble that Saved the NBA Season
On this latest episode of FORTUNE Reinvent podcast, hear exclusive excerpts from Adam Lashinsky’s interview with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Listen now.
Clifton Leaf
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
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- Ones to watch. In addition to Fortune's Most Powerful Women, check out our Ones to Watch list. New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien, Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado, Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe, and Clorox CEO Linda Rendle are all execs to keep your eyes on. Fortune
- Labour landslide. Jacinda Ardern's Labour Party earned a landslide victory in this weekend's New Zealand elections. With the party's strongest win in a half-century, Ardern holds an outright majority as she enters a second term as prime minister. BBC
- Next up for Nextdoor. Nextdoor, the neighborhood-based social media platform headed by CEO Sarah Friar, is reportedly seeking an IPO at a $5 billion valuation. The company is also said to be considering a direct listing. Bloomberg
- Racing ahead. As a professional runner, Lauren Fleshman grew fixated on her weight. She now believes that that singular focus prevented her from reaching her full potential. Now a coach, Fleshman is helping elite female athletes train their whole selves—and avoid the common pitfalls that affected their predecessors. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Melanie Boulden, president of the stills business unit for Coca-Cola North America, joins Adobe's board of directors. TaskRabbit VP of marketing and growth Helen Chang joins EXOS's board of directors. Bain & Company hired Amazon Web Services head of global business development Pearl Chen as EVP of global partnerships. Care.com hired former Uber senior counsel for safety Megan Poonolly as head of safety.
Content From PwC
What’s keeping companies from doing better?
Sixty-eight percent of leaders believe their business serves the greater good, but only 15% of the wider public agrees. We need to act to help close the gap. We recently surveyed US business leaders, employees and the public to understand what fosters and inhibits trust. These findings shaped actionable steps to help companies fight for social justice and take action, now.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
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- Town hall talent. Savannah Guthrie drew wide-ranging praise last week for her grilling of President Trump at NBC's town hall. Her deft handling of the President—especially compared to the first presidential debate—also proved key to NBC as the network faced criticism for agreeing to air the event opposite Joe Biden's own. Associated Press
- Company dialogue. Earlier this month, Walmart CEO Doug McMillion wrote an op-ed for Fortune about "listen[ing] with open ears and an open heart" to employees. Now Cynthia Murray, a 20-year veteran Walmart associate and a founding member of United for Respect, a movement seeking better treatment of retail workers, responds with a piece of her own. She says that if Walmart truly values the perspectives of its workers, it should designate a seat for a representative of the workforce on its board of directors. Fortune
- Bad for business? In this Fortune op-ed, Stephanie Wylie, senior policy analyst for legal progress at the Center for American Progress, argues that a very conservative Supreme Court—as is likely if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed—would be bad for business. Decisions that go too far in the direction of favoring business and shareholders, she writes, threaten to lose the gains of the move toward stakeholder capitalism, valuing consumers and workers. Fortune
ON MY RADAR
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How one of the world’s biggest banks plans to tackle climate change Fortune
The long, worthwhile search for the five Black women of Grace Baptist Church New York Times
For Black women, the isolation of infertility is compounded by barriers to treatment STAT News
PARTING WORDS
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"There’s not another band in the world that has two lead women singers, two lead women writers. That was my world’s mission."
-Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac—and how abortion access made her career possible
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