10 most Influential Biz Women of Amer Co's for W’s Hist Mo

Most well-known Companies with Women in Leadership: Kraft Foods, Pepsico, DuPont, Xerox, & Sunoco.

create more better Products, Low $$$ choices (= more Affordable), Expand thru acquisition, Re-Structuring, Global Strategy, Flexibility to change Focus, create Value, meet People’s Needs, Work-Life balance, Optimize Assets = more Profit, compete in a Male-Dominated World, always look for Improvement Opportunities, accept Full Responsibility, have total Commitment, & be a Role-Model.

UK PM Margaret Thatcher once famously said, “If you want anything said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.”

Diff. Neuroscientists have reported that there are innate differences in the way men & women think, but that doesn’t mean men make better leaders, despite the fact that more men have secured top leadership positions.

Heads of State or Companies. Presently, there are roughly 22 female Presidents or Prime Ministers in the world, and about a dozen women executives at the helm of Fortune 500 companies. Getting to the top hasn’t been easy, especially for these top 10 women CEOs. The following are ranked by Annual Compensation.

1. Irene Rosenfeld

Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods

Annual Compensation: $19.3 million

As CEO of the world’s second-largest food company, Irene has been a leading voice in the industry for decades. She was CEO of Frito-Lay, where she helped emphasize more healthy product choices, before she was appointed CEO of Kraft Foods in 2006.

Under her leadership, the company has slowly revitalized itself. First, Kraft replaced AIG on the Dow Jones Industrial, and in 2009, the company purchased the long-established British brand Cadbury for more than 10 billion pounds.

Irene was ranked number 6 on the Wall Street Journal’s “50 Women to Watch” list in 2008, and 10th on Forbes’ “Most Powerful Women” list in 2011.

2. Carol Meyrowitz

President and CEO of TJX (Retail)

Annual Compensation: $17.4 million

If you’re looking for a bargain, Carol can help. This CEO has built the company around providing low-cost choices to shoppers who seek everything from clothing to house-wares.

Carol took over in 2007 and has developed retail brands including TJ Maxx, Home Goods, & Marshall’s into a $21B business. She may have started out as an assistant Buyer at Saks 5th Ave, but she has since shown what can happen when you work hard to climb the corporate ladder.

3. Indra Nooyi

Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo

Annual Compensation: $16.2 million

Indra joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named CFO, then President by 2001. She helped expand by acquiring Tropicana in 1998 and the Quaker Oats in 2001, and added Gatorade and more healthy foods to the company’s arsenal.

Pepsi has seen revenue rise by 72% since 2001, and Indra’s ability to restructure the company has caused profits to double in the same time period. She was named CEO in 2007, and her keen interest in global strategy has positioned Pepsi as one of the largest international companies, surpassing Coca-Cola in market value for the first time in 112 years.

Indra was named the world’s fourth 4th most powerful woman by Forbes in 2011. She also serves as a chairperson for the U.S.-India Economic Council and as a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum.

4. Ellen Kullman

Chairman and CEO of DuPont (Chemical)

Annual Compensation: $14.8 million

DuPont is the largest food ingredient maker in the world, and the 3rd biggest chemical company in the U.S. Even though it has existed for more than 200 years, CEO Ellen has not shied away from making big changes in a short amount of time.

After beginning her business career with General Electric, she joined DuPoint in 1988 as a Marketing Manager. She was elected President in 2008 and CEO in 2009, and quickly revolutionized the company by shifting the focus from oil-based chemicals to more high-tech areas such as green energy & biotech.

Ellen has invested $B of dollars into developing new biofuels & high-yielding seeds, and has seen huge returns on agriculture & solar cells. Under her leadership, DuPont posted a $1.75B profit on $26B of revenue, and has begun to hire workers because of higher consumer demand. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Tufts University near Boston.

5. Angela Braly

Chairman, President, & CEO of Well Point (Healthcare)

Annual Compensation: $13.5 million

You may know WellPoint better by its consumer brand: BlueCross-BlueShield. In fact, 1 in 9 (11%) Americans carries a BlueCross card in their wallet.

Wellpoint’s 2010 revenue approached $60B, and the company employs around 37,500 people. since becoming CEO in 2007, Angela’s focus has been on “creating the best healthcare value by making healthcare fundamentally more affordable, providing access & guidance to the right care, + advocating healthy living.”

Angela is a wife and mother of two sons and a daughter. She told USA Today in a 2007 Interview that she would have to work hard to balance work & family. “Balance doesn’t come every day, but you do it over time if you’re strong-willed,” she said.

6. Ursula Burns

Chairman and CEO of Xerox (ie, Copy Mach’s)

Annual Compensation: $13.2 million

Ursula has an incredible rags-to-riches story. She grew up in a New York City housing project in a single mother household. She started at Xerox in 1980 as a Mechanical Engineering Intern, working her way up thru the ranks. She helped prevent the company from filing bankruptcy in 2001, and 8 years after that become CEO – the first-ever African-American woman to take such a position at a Fortune 500 company.

In a letter to shareholders, Ursala laid out the progress she’s made, most notably acquiring Affiliated Computer Services and its 77,000 employees. She has worked hard to make Xerox a sustainable & profitable company and achieved it.

7. Lynn Elsenhans

Chairman, CEO, & President of Sunoco (Oil & Gas)

Annual Compensation: $11.7 million

Lynn took the job as CEO of Sunoco in 2008, and made incredible progress in terms of the company’s profitability.

“The partnership had a record year in 2011,” she said in a company News Release. “The West Texas crude oil market and developing shale production areas provided many opportunities for us to optimize our assets to generate additional cash flow.” In addition, we continue to grow our business – which was up 14% year over year.”

Lynn stepped down as CEO in early 2012 after thriving in a male-dominated industry. She was the only woman on the Fortune 500 list in charge of an energy company.

8. Patricia Woertz

CEO of Archer Daniels Midland [ADM] –AgriBusiness

Annual Compensation: $11.4 million

Of all the women on this list, Pat runs the largest public company. A graduate of Penn State University, she always set her sights high, eventually landing a top position in an industry that is male-dominated. Even after being told that having kids would ruin her career, she found work-life balance, raising 3 children through 80-hour work weeks and demanding travel schedules.

According to Business Week, Pat went into labor with her second child during a Staff meeting, then proceeded to drive herself to the hospital. Her company’s website, ADM.com, states that she has led the company to record financial results by improving sourcing, transportation, & processing networks. She has also made safety and sustainability a top focus.

9. Laura Sen

President and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club (Retail)

Annual Compensation: $4 million

After many years at Zayre – a discount chain based in Mass – they founded BJ’s Wholesale. In 1989, Laura became an Assistant VP of BJs .

In 1991, she received a promotion to Vice President & Logistics Director. Her promotions continued every couple of years until 2003, when she left the company to work as an Independent Consultant.

However, her leave was short. In 2007, Laura returned to BJ’s, and two years later become CEO of the company. She is very active in the retail industry, and in 2011 was appointed to the Board of Directors for the National Retail Federation. She is a Sen-sation !!!

10. Beth Mooney

Chairman and CEO of Key Corp (Banking)

Annual Compensation: $2.4 million

Beth Mooney knows that being the first female CEO of one of the biggest banking companies in America – KeyCorp – comes with more responsibility than the Job description may claim.

In a recent speech at American Banker’s “Most Powerful Women in Banking” event, Beth said, “When I started in the business, we acted like we belonged – and now we do. I get asked, what does it feel like to be first woman CEO of a top 20 U.S. bank? I feel tremendous notoriety and frankly I have been surprised by that. But it also comes with a tremendous obligation & committment. I am grateful for those who blazed the trail before me, but also am conscious of serving as role-model for those who want to come after me – and I take that seriously. I like being Beth and am hardly ever moody !!!

Final Words

Leaders like these 10 women have done their best to pave the way for women in business. We can all agree that they have come a long way, and their journey is inspiring. The Lesson is: “Set your goals high, follow business advice from those who have found success, and you could become the next woman to end up in a top corporate seat !!!

10 most Influential Business Women of American Companies for Women’s History Month