The Top 10 Female Fortune 500 CEOs

Company: Lockheed Martin

Fortune 500 Rank: 60

Marillyn Hewson was born in Kansas in 1953 and attended the University of Alabama for both her bachelor’s in business administration and her master’s in economics. Hewson has also completed executive development programs at Columbia Business School and Harvard Business School. She joined Lockheed Martin over 35 years ago as an industrial engineer. The CEO since 2013, Hewson previously held many other high-level positions at the company, including Senior Vice President of Corporate Shared Services.

Lockheed Martin is the world’s leading arms manufacturer, an American corporation in the aerospace, defense, security, and technologies industry. Their largest contractors are the US government, who make up US$38.4 billion of their annual sales.

Company: Best Buy

Fortune 500 Rank: 74

Originating from Minnesota, 44-year old Corie Barry has bachelor’s degrees from the College of St. Benedict (where she now serves on the board of trustees) in accounting and management. She joined Best Buy in 1999 and has held a number of operational and financial roles across the organization, becoming CFO in 2016 and elected as CEO in 2019.

Best Buy was originally founded in 1966 as a specialty audio store called Sound of Music. It was rebranded in 1983 and now sells a huge variety of consumer electronics. It has stores across the US and Canada, plus several in the UK under the banner of Best Buy Europe.

Company: Oracle

Fortune 500 Rank: 81

Safra Catz was born in Holon, Israel, in 1961, moving to the US at the age of six. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983, followed by a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1986. She joined Oracle in 1999, becoming a board member in 2001, and replacing founder Larry Ellison as CEO in 2014.

Founded in 1977, Oracle Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation specializing in database software and technology, cloud engineered systems and enterprise software products.

Company: General Dynamics

Fortune 500 Rank: 92

Born in Pennsylvania in 1957, Phebe Novakovic is of Serbian descent. She received her bachelor’s from Smith College in 1979, followed by an MBA from The Wharton School in 1988. Novakovic joined General Dynamics in 2001, becoming CEO in January 2013. Prior to this she had a rich and diverse career history, including a stint as a CIA operative.

General Dynamics is an American aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. It is the fifth-largest defense contractor in the US and the sixth largest in the world by sales.

Company: Progressive

Fortune 500 Rank: 99

Susan Patricia (Tricia) Griffith was born in October 1964 in Illinois. She attended Illinois State University for her undergraduate degree and has also completed an advanced management program at The Wharton School. Griffith joined Progressive in 1988 as a claims representative, rising through the ranks before being appointed CEO in July 2016.

The Progressive Corporation is an American insurance company founded nearly a century ago in 1937. It insures motorcycles, boats, RVs and commercial vehicles as well as home insurance. Internationally, it offers car insurance in Australia.

Company: Rite Aid

Fortune 500 Rank: 107

Heyward Donigan holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Virginia, plus a Master of Public Administration from New York University. She has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry; prior to her appointment at Rite Aid she was president and CEO of Sapphire Digital, who design omnichannel platforms to help consumers choose healthcare providers. She was appointed as Rite Aid CEO in 2019.

Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in America, the largest on the East Coast and the third largest in the US. Founded 57 years ago in Scranton, Pennsylvania, it now has 2,466 stores across the country.

Company: Northrop Grumman

Fortune 500 Rank: 108

Kathy J. Warden earned her bachelor’s degree at James Madison University in 1992, and an MBA from George Washington University in 1999. She is an information technology and cybersecurity expert, and has previously worked for General Electric, Veridian Corporation and General Dynamics. Warden joined Northrop Grumman in 2008, serving as vice president of the company’s cybersecurity business before being appointed as CEO in 2019.

Northrop Grumman is an American global aerospace and defense technology company. They recently developed the award-winning X-47B, the world’s first unmanned, autonomous air system operating from an aircraft carrier.

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