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The diversity of the top 50 Fortune 500 CEOs over time

Corporate America is historically known for having a majority of white male CEOs, particularly Fortune 500 CEOs. While the corporate world still has a long way to go to be more inclusive, in recent years, the C-suite executives at many corporations have become much more diverse. Qualtrics is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and as part of this mission, we took a look at the top 50 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to see how racially and gender diverse the leaders of America’s biggest companies have been through the decades.

The diversity of the top 50 Fortune 500 CEOs over time infographic



How has the diversity of Fortune 500 companies changed over time?

Fortune 500 CEOs have overwhelmingly been white men, but in recent years, executive boards have been becoming more diverse. For instance, in 1980, all of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies’ CEOs were white men. In 2023, 37 of the top 50 companies’ CEOs were white men.

In 2023, the CEOs of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies include six white women, one Hispanic/Latino man, one Hispanic/Latina woman, three South Asian men, one black man, and one black woman.

Here are some diversity milestones of Fortune 500 CEOs:

  • 1972: Katharine Graham became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company (The Washington Post).
  • 1981: Roberto Goizueta became the first Hispanic/Latino man to become a Fortune 500 CEO (Coca-Cola).
  • 1986: Gerald Tsai became the first East Asian male to become a Fortune 500 CEO (American Can Company).
  • 1987: Clifton R. Wharton Jr., CEO of TIAA-CREF, became the first black male to be a Fortune 500 CEO (TIAA-CREF).
  • 1997: Ramani Ayer was the first South Asian male to become a Fortune 500 CEO (The Hartford).
  • 1999: Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon, was the first East Asian Fortune 500 CEO (Avon).
  • 2006: Indra Nooyi was the first South Asian Fortune 500 CEO (PepsiCo).
  • 2009: Ursula M. Burns became the first black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company (Xerox).
  • 2011: Tim Cook was the first LGBTQ+ CEO of a Fortune 500 company (Apple).
  • 2017: Geisha Williams of PG&E became the first Hispanic/Latina female CEO of a Fortune 500 company (PG&E).
  • 2018: Beth Ford was the first LGBTQ+ female to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company (Land O’Lakes).

What percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs are female?

According to Fortune, in 2023, 10.4% of Fortune 500 CEOs were female. About a quarter of these female CEOs became CEOs of their respective companies within the past year. Some of the female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list include Karen Lynch (CVS Health), Mary Barra (General Motors), Priscilla Almodovar (Fannie Mae), and Gina R. Boswell (Bath & Body Works).

The history of the Fortune 500

The Fortune 500 is an annual list that is published by popular business magazine Fortune that ranks the largest corporations in the United States by revenue. It was officially created in 1955 by Fortune editor Edgar P. Smith. Originally, the list was comprised of companies based on revenue from manufacturing, energy exploration, and mining. The very first Fortune 500 company to top the list in 1955 was General Motors.

Fortune also produces a Global 500 list, which is the annual ranking of the top 500 companies by revenue worldwide. In 2022, the top ten companies in the Global 500 were:

  1. Walmart (United States)
  2. Amazon (United States)
  3. State Grid (China)
  4. China National Petroleum (China)
  5. Sinopec Group (China)
  6. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia)
  7. Apple (United States)
  8. Volkswagen (Germany)
  9. China State Construction Engineering (China)
  10. CVS Health (United States)

 

The diversity of the top 50 companies in the Fortune 500

1980

Rank Company CEO Gender Race
1 Exxon Howard C. Kauffmann Male White
2 General Motors Thomas Murphy Male White
3 Mobil Rawleigh Warner Jr. Male White
4 Ford Motor Philip Caldwell Male White
5 Texaco John Key McKinley Male White
6 ChevronTexaco Harold J. Haynes Male White
7 Gulf Oil Jerry McAfee Male White
8 IBM Frank T. Cary Male White
9 General Electric Jack Welch Male White
10 Amoco John E. Swearingen Male White
11 ITT Industries Rand Araskog Male White
12 Atlantic Richfield Robert Orville Anderson Male White
13 Shell Oil John F. Bookout Male White
14 U.S. Steel David M. Roderick Male White
15 Conoco Ralph E. Bailey Male White
16 DuPont Irving Saul Shapiro Male White
17 Chrysler Lee Iacocca Male White
18 Tenneco Automotive James L. Ketelsen Male White
19 AT&T Technologies Charles L. Brown Male White
20 Sunoco Theodore A. Burtis Male White
21 Occidental Petroleum Armand Hammer Male White
22 ConocoPhillips Ralph E. Bailey Male White
23 Procter & Gamble Edward Harness Male White
24 Dow Chemical Paul Oreffice Male White
25 Union Carbide William S. Sneath Male White
26 United Technologies Harry Gray Male White
27 International Harvester (Navistar International) Archie R. McCardell Male White
28 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Charles J. Pilliod Jr. Male White
29 Boeing Thornton Wilson Male White
30 Eastman Kodak Walter A. Fallon Male White
31 LTV W. Paul Thayer Male White
32 Standard Oil (BP America) John E. Swearingen Male White
33 Caterpillar Bob Gilmore Male White
34 Unocal Fred L. Hartley Male White
35 Beatrice Wallace Rasmussen Male White
36 RCA Edgar H. Griffiths Male White
37 CBS Thomas H. Wyman Male White
38 Bethlehem Steel Lewis W. Foy Male White
39 Nabisco Group Holdings Robert M. Schaeberle Male White
40 Xerox Charles Peter McColough Male White
41 Amerada Hess (Hess Corporation) Leon Hess Male White
42 Esmark Donald P. Kelly Male White
43 Marathon Oil Harold D. Hoopman Male White
44 Ashland Orin E. Atkins Male White
45 Rockwell Automation Robert Anderson Male White
46 Kraft John Marshall Richman Male White
47 Cities Service Company (Citgo Petroleum) Robert V. Sellers Male White
48 Monsanto Jack Hanley Male White
49 Philip Morris (Altria Group) Frank E. Resnik Male White
50 General Foods James L. Ferguson Male White

1990

Rank Company CEO Gender Race
2 Ford Motor Harold Arthur Poling Male White
3 Exxon Mobil Lawrence G. Rawl Male White
4 IBM John Fellows Akers Male White
5 General Electric John Francis Welch Jr. Male White
6 Mobil Allen E. Murray Male White
7 Altria Group (Philip Morris) Hamish Maxwell Male White
8 Chrysler Lee Iacocca Male White
9 DuPont Edgar S. Woolard Jr. Male White
10 Texaco Alfred C. DeCrane Jr. Male White
11 Chevron Kenneth T. Derr Male White
12 Amoco H. Laurance Fuller Male White
13 Shell Oil Frank H. Richardson Male White
14 Procter & Gamble Edwin L. Artzt Male White
15 Boeing Frank Shrontz Male White
16 Occidental Petroleum Ray R. Irani Male Middle Eastern
17 United Technologies Robert F. Daniell Male White
18 Eastman Kodak Kay Whitmore Male White
19 Marathon Oil (U.S. Steel) Charles Corry Male White
20 Dow Chemical Frank Popoff Male White
21 Xerox Paul Allaire Male White
22 Atlantic Richfield Lodwrick Cook Male White
23 PepsiCo Wayne Calloway Male White
24 Nabisco Group Holdings F. Ross Johnson Male White
25 McDonnell Douglas John F. McDonnell Male White
26 Tenneco Automotive James L. Ketelsen Male White
27 Digital Equipment Ken Olsen Male White
28 CBS Laurence Tisch Male White
29 Rockwell Automation Donald R. Beall Male White
30 Conoco (ConocoPhillips) Ralph E. Bailey Male White
31 Honeywell James Renier Male White
32 3M Allen F. Jacobson Male White
33 Hewlett-Packard John A. Young Male White
34 Sara Lee John H. Bryan Male White
35 International Paper John Georges Male White
36 ConAgra Foods C. Michael Harper Male White
37 Alcoa Paul H. O'Neill Male White
38 Caterpillar Donald V. Fites Male White
39 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Tom H. Barrett Male White
40 Unocal Richard Stegemeier Male White
41 Georgia-Pacific T. Marshall Hahn Male White
42 Weyerhaeuser George H. Weyerhaeuser Sr. Male White
43 Unisys James Unruh Male White
44 General Dynamics Herbert F. Rogers Male White
45 Martin Marietta (Lockheed Martin) Norman R. Augustine Male White
46 Sun Company (Sunoco) Robert McClements Jr. Male White
47 Johnson & Johnson Ralph S. Larsen Male White
48 Motorola George M.C. Fisher Male White
49 Anheuser-Busch August Busch III Male White
50 Bristol-Myers Squibb Richard L. Gelb Male White

2000

Rank Company CEO Gender Race
2 Wal-Mart Stores Lee Scott Male White
3 Exxon Mobil Lee Roy Raymond Male White
4 Ford Motor Jacques Albert Nasser Male Middle Eastern
5 General Electric John Francis Welch Jr. Male White
6 IBM Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr. Male White
7 Citigroup Sanford I. Weill Male White
8 AT&T Edward Whitacre Jr. Male White
9 Altria Group (Philip Morris) Geoffrey C. Bible Male White
10 Boeing Harry Stonecipher Male White
11 Bank of America Corp. Hugh McColl Male White
12 SBC Communications Edward Whitacre Jr. Male White
13 Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina Female White
14 Kroger Joseph A. Pichler Male White
15 State Farm Insurance Cos. Edward B. Rust Jr. Male White
16 Sears Roebuck Arthur C. Martinez Male White
17 American Intl. Group Maurice R. Greenberg Male White
18 Enron Kenneth Lay Male White
19 TIAA-CREF John Biggs Male White
20 Compaq Computer Michael Capellas Male White
21 Home Depot Robert Nardelli Male White
22 Lucent Technologies Rich McGinn Male White
23 Procter & Gamble Durk Jager Male White
24 Albertson's Gary G. Michael Male White
25 MCI WorldCom Bernard Ebbers Male White
26 Fannie Mae Franklin Raines Male Black
27 Kmart Holding Charles Conaway Male White
28 Texaco Peter Bijur Male White
29 Merrill Lynch David Komansky Male White
30 Morgan Stanley Philip J. Purcell Male White
31 Chase Manhattan Corp. William B. Harrison Jr. Male White
32 Target Bob Ulrich Male White
33 Bell Atlantic (Verizon Communications) Ivan Seidenberg Male White
34 Merck Raymond Gilmartin Male White
35 ChevronTexaco Dave O'Reilly Male White
36 J.C. Penney Allen Questrom Male White
37 Motorola Christopher Galvin Male White
38 McKesson John Hammergren Male White
39 Intel Craig Barrett Male White
40 Safeway Steven Burd Male White
41 Ingram Micro Kent B. Foster Male White
42 DuPont Charles O. Holliday Male White
43 Johnson & Johnson Ralph S. Larsen Male White
44 Costco Wholesale James Sinegal Male White
45 Time Warner Gerald M. Levin Male White
46 UPS Jim Kelly Male White
47 Allstate Ed Liddy Male White
48 Prudential Financial Arthur F. Ryan Male White
49 Aetna John Rowe Male White
50 Bank One Corp. Jamie Dimon Male White

2010

Rank Company CEO Gender Race
1 Wal-Mart Stores William S. Simon Male White
2 Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson Male White
3 Chevron John S. Watson Male White
4 General Electric Jeffrey Robert Immelt Male White
5 Bank of America Corp. Brian Thomas Moynihan Male White
6 ConocoPhillips James Mulva Male White
7 AT&T Randall Lynn Stephenson Male White
8 Ford Motor Alan Mulally Male White
9 J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon Male White
10 Hewlett-Packard Mark Hurd Male White
11 Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett Male White
12 Citigroup Vikram Shankar Pandit Male South Asian
13 Verizon Communications Ivan Seidenberg Male White
14 McKesson John Hammergren Male White
15 General Motors Edward Whitacre Jr. Male White
16 AIG Bob Benmosche Male White
17 Cardinal Health George S. Barrett Male White
18 CVS Caremark Thomas Ryan Male White
19 Wells Fargo John Stumpf Male White
20 IBM Samuel J. Palmisano Male White
21 UnitedHealth Group Stephen Hemsley Male White
22 Procter & Gamble A.G. Lafley Male White
23 Kroger David Dillon Male White
24 AmerisourceBergen R. David Yost Male White
25 Costco Wholesale James Sinegal Male White
26 Valero Energy William R. Klesse Male White
27 Archer Daniels Midland Patricia A. Woertz Female White
28 Boeing James McNerney Male White
29 Home Depot Frank Blake Male White
30 Target Gregg Steinhafel Male White
31 WellPoint (Elevance Health) Angela Braly Female White
32 Walgreens Greg Wasson Male White
33 Johnson & Johnson William C. Weldon Male White
34 State Farm Insurance Cos. Edward B. Rust Jr. Male White
35 Medco Health Solutions David B. Snow Jr. Male White
36 Microsoft Steve Ballmer Male White
37 United Technologies Louis R. Chênevert Male White
38 Dell Michael Dell Male White
39 Goldman Sachs Group Lloyd Blankfein Male White
40 Pfizer Jeff Kindler Male White
41 Marathon Oil Clarence P. Cazalot Jr. Male White
42 Lowe's Robert Niblock Male White
43 UPS Scott Davis Male White
44 Lockheed Martin Robert J. Stevens Male White
45 Best Buy Brian J. Dunn Male White
46 Dow Chemical Andrew Liveris Male White
47 Supervalu Craig Herkert Male White
48 Sears Holdings W. Bruce Johnson Male White
49 International Assets Holding (StoneX Group Inc.) Sean O'Connor Male White
50 PepsiCo Indra Nooyi Female South Asian

2023

Rank Company CEO Gender Race
1 Walmart Douglas McMillon Male White
2 Amazon.com Andrew R. Jassy Male White
3 Exxon Mobil Darren W. Woods Male White
4 Apple Timothy D. Cook Male White
5 UnitedHealth Group Andrew P. Witty Male White
6 CVS Health Karen S. Lynch Female White
7 Berkshire Hathaway Warren E. Buffett Male White
8 Alphabet Sundar Pichai Male South Asian
9 McKesson Brian S. Tyler Male White
10 Chevron Michael K. Wirth Male White
11 AmerisourceBergen Steven H. Collis Male White
12 Costco Wholesale Craig Jelinek Male White
13 Microsoft Satya Nadella Male South Asian
14 Cardinal Health Jason Hollar Male White
15 Cigna Group David M. Cordani Male White
16 Marathon Petroleum Michael J. Hennigan Male White
17 Phillips 66 Mark Lashier Male White
18 Valero Energy Joseph W. Gorder Male White
19 Ford Motor Jim Farley Male White
20 Home Depot Ted Decker Male White
21 General Motors Mary T. Barra Female White
22 Elevance Health Gail K. Boudreaux Female White
23 JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon Male White
24 Kroger Rodney McMullen Male White
25 Centene Sarah M. London Female White
26 Verizon Communications Hans E. Vestberg Male White
27 Walgreens Boots Alliance Roz Brewer Female Black
28 Fannie Mae Priscilla Almodovar Female Hispanic/Latina
29 Comcast Brian L. Roberts Male White
30 AT&T John T. Stankey Male White
31 Meta Platforms Mark Zuckerberg Male White
32 Bank of America Brian Moynihan Male White
33 Target Brian C. Cornell Male White
34 Dell Technologies Michael S. Dell Male White
35 Archer Daniels Midland Juan R. Luciano Male Hispanic/Latino
36 Citigroup Jane Fraser Female White
37 UPS Carol B. Tome Female White
38 Pfizer Albert Bourla Male White
39 Lowe's Marvin R. Ellison Male Black
40 Johnson & Johnson Joaquin Duato Male White
41 FedEx Raj Subramaniam Male South Asian
42 Humana Bruce D. Broussard Male White
43 Energy Transfer Thomas E. Long Male White
44 State Farm Insurance Michael L. Tipsord Male White
45 Freddie Mac Michael Devito Male White
46 PepsiCo Ramon L. Laguarta Male White
47 Wells Fargo Charles W. Scharf Male White
48 Walt Disney Robert A. Chapek Male White
49 ConocoPhillips Ryan M. Lance Male White
50 Tesla Elon Musk Male White

Fortune 500 CEO Firsts

Rank Company CEO Gender
First Female Katharine Graham The Washington Post 1972
First Hispanic/Latino Male Roberto Goizueta Coca-Cola 1981
First East Asian Male Gerald Tsai The American Can Company 1986
First Black Male Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. TIAA-CREF 1987
First South Asian Male Ramani Ayer The Hartford 1997
First East Asian Female Andrea Jung Avon 1999
First South Asian Female Indra Nooyi PepsiCo 2006
First Black Female Ursula M. Burns Xerox 2009
First Openly LGBTQ+ Male Tim Cook Apple 2011
First Hispanic/Latina Female Geisha Williams PG&E 2017
First Openly LGBTQ+ Female Beth Ford Land O'Lakes 2018

 

Related: XM for customer frontlines, XM for people teams, and XM for strategy and research.

Qualtrics // Experience Management

Qualtrics, the leader and creator of the experience management category, is a cloud-native software platform that empowers organizations to deliver exceptional experiences and build deep relationships with their customers and employees.

With insights from Qualtrics, organizations can identify and resolve the greatest friction points in their business, retain and engage top talent, and bring the right products and services to market. Nearly 20,000 organizations around the world use Qualtrics’ advanced AI to listen, understand, and take action. Qualtrics uses its vast universe of experience data to form the largest database of human sentiment in the world. Qualtrics is co-headquartered in Provo, Utah and Seattle.

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