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Thasunda Brown Duckett says she learned everything she needed to know about being a CEO at a young age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 52-year-old TIAA CEO told Wharton School graduates in 2023 that from early childhood, she honed one of her most crucial skills as a leader: her character.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I know today, as a leader, is that I rent my title, I own my character,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duckett is the first woman to lead the $46 billion insurance company after taking the reins in 2021, and is one of only two Black women currently serving as Fortune 500 chief executives. In 1987, Duckett\u2019s predecessor, Clifton Wharton made history as the first Black CEO of a major U.S. corporation when he took leadership of TIAA. However, despite the company\u2019s substantial size, it was omitted from the Fortune 500 at the time.<\/p>\n
The famed annual Fortune 500 list ranks the largest U.S. companies by revenue, representing approximately two-thirds of U.S. GDP. Since its debut in 1955, the Fortune 500 has tracked more than 2,000 CEO arrivals and departures.<\/p>\n
However, underrepresented groups constitute a small percentage of leadership. Women hold 11% of CEO positions on the Fortune 500 list, accounting for some 55 companies, and a total 28 chief executives have been Black.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the current Fortune 500 cohort, only 10 companies are currently led by Black CEOs, representing just 2% of the largest U.S. corporations. It\u2019s a record high, and has doubled since 2021. Fortune 500 companies led by Black CEOs collectively generated $412 billion in total revenues and had a combined market value of $428 billion.<\/p>\n
Today, leaders of Fortune 500 companies control $19.9 trillion in revenues and oversee 31 million employees, and while 10 Black CEOs at the top is a new record, it remains a strikingly small share of corporate leadership. In contrast, the number of Black people living in the U.S. rose to 48.3 million in 2023, up 33% from 2000, according to Pew Research Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A 2021 McKinsey study\u00a0that analyzed data from 24 companies covering approximately 3.7 million employees, found Black employees are represented in entry-level positions, but there is a significant underrepresentation at the managerial level. The study revealed Black employees make up 14% of the overall workforce, but only 7% of managers\u2014half of their entry-level representation. At the VP, SVP, and senior manager levels, Black representation drops even further to between 4%\u00a0to 5%, according to the report.<\/p>\n
But who are the executives behind the desk? Meet the Black CEOs running the country\u2019s largest companies.<\/p>\n
Company: Fannie Mae<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 0.3<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor\u2019s degree in civil engineering, University of Birmingham, England<\/p>\n Peter Akwaboah is serving as the acting chief executive officer of Fannie Mae after former CEO Priscilla Almodovar stepped down in late 2025. Fannie Mae ranked No. 25 on the Fortune 500 list.<\/p>\n Company: Lowe\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 7.6<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration, University of Memphis; MBA, Emory University<\/p>\n Marvin R. Ellison is the president, chief executive officer, and chairman of home improvement giant Lowe\u2019s, which ranks No. 52 on the Fortune 500 list and generated $84 billion in revenue in 2024. Ellison became CEO of the home improvement company in 2018, following his stint as CEO of J.C. Penney, making him the first ever Black CEO to lead two different Fortune 500 companies.<\/p>\n A graduate of the University of Memphis, Ellison began his career earning just $4.35 per hour as a part-time employee at Target.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t have great pedigree, I didn\u2019t have an Ivy League education. I didn\u2019t have any stellar international opportunities or stints on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u201d Ellison told FUBU founder and Shark Tank<\/em> star Daymond John in a 2022 interview.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m competing against all of these exceptionally talented people on paper; I had to find a way to differentiate myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: TIAA<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 4.8<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor\u2019s degree in finance and marketing, University of Houston; MBA, Baylor University<\/p>\n Thasunda Brown Duckett is the president and chief executive officer of TIAA, which ranks No. 98 on the Fortune 500 and reported a revenue of $46 billion in 2024. Duckett was appointed CEO in 2021 and remains one of two Black women leading a Fortune 500 company.\u00a0<\/p>\n In reflecting on her role as the first woman to lead TIAA in its over 100-year history, Duckett highlighted the rarity of her position as one of only four Black female CEOs in the history of the Fortune 500. She called it a \u201csisterhood\u201d that includes executives like former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns (the first Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company), former Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Roz Brewer, and current SAIC CEO Toni Townes-Whitley. Duckett acknowledged that progress is far from complete.<\/p>\n Company: Southern Company<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 2.8<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor of science in political science, Western Michigan University; masters in public administration; American University<\/p>\n Christopher C. Womack is the president, chairman, and CEO of Southern Company, an energy provider that ranks No. 161 on the Fortune 500 list. Womack was appointed CEO in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always felt that if I want to see something change, if I want to make progress and make a difference, there are some things I have to do,\u201d Womack told Tech Talk Business in an October 2024 interview. \u201cI just can\u2019t point to others. I have a personal responsibility to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: Exelon<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 3.1<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor of science in public relations and political science, Bradley University; J.D. in corporate and environmental, Washington University School of Law<\/p>\n Calvin Butler is the president and chief executive officer of Exelon, a company that ranks No. 192 on the Fortune 500 list. Butler was appointed CEO in 2023 and has been with Exelon since 2008.<\/p>\n In an October 2024 interview at the Fortune Impact Initiative, Butler shared his advice for the next generation of leaders: \u201cSurround yourself with people who are more talented and smarter than you, and learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: C.H. Robinson Worldwide<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 2.6<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor of science in manufacturing design, Bradley University; \u00a0master of science in engineering management, Milwaukee School of Engineering\u00a0<\/p>\n David P. Bozeman is the president and CEO of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, a transportation and logistics company. He was appointed CEO in 2023 after joining the company from Ford Motor, where he served as vice president of customer service, and from Amazon, where he was vice president of transportation services. C.H. Robinson ranks No. 233 on the Fortune 500.<\/p>\n Company: <\/strong>Kohl\u2019s<\/p>\n Years as CEO: 0.8<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor\u2019s degree in economics, Stanford University; MBA in finance, marketing, and management policy, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University<\/p>\n Michael Bender\u00a0is the chief executive officer of Kohl\u2019s, assuming the role in November 2025 after serving as interim CEO. The company ranks No. 261 on the Fortune 500 list.<\/p>\n Company: M&T Bank<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 8.1<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor of science in management science, Boston College; MBA, University of Rochester\u2019s Simon School of Business<\/p>\n Ren\u00e9 F. Jones is the chief executive officer of M&T Bank, which ranks No. 317 on the Fortune 500 list. Jones joined M&T in 1992 under its Executive Associates Program, and worked his way up to chief financial officer in 2005, and then CEO\u00a0in 2017.<\/p>\n In a February 2021 interview with Fortune, Jones said: \u201cJob No. 1 is lifting up the next set of CEOs of color in the Fortune 500. We too often look to the Fortune 500\u2019s largest companies, when, in fact, it\u2019s probably very logical that the next leaders today sit outside the Fortune 500. And it\u2019s our job to begin to find them and bring them along.\u201d<\/p>\n Company: DTE Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 0.4<\/p>\n University attended: bachelor of science in Industrial Engineering; MBA, Wayne State University<\/p>\n Joi Harris serves as president and CEO of DTE Energy, assuming the role in September 2025 after serving as chief operating officer. DTE Energy ranks No. 337 on the Fortune 500.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t serve nameless, faceless people. I\u2019m serving my family, my friends, my neighbors, and a community that helped shape me. And so that makes my job even more important. It really is more than just a job for me,\u201d Harris said in an interview during the 2026 Detroit Policy Conference.<\/p>\n Company: QVC Group<\/strong><\/p>\n Years as CEO: 4.3<\/p>\n University attended:\u00a0bachelor of arts in political science, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina;\u00a0J.D.<\/strong>, the University of South Carolina School of Law;\u00a0M.B.A., Harvard Business School.<\/p>\n David L. Rawlinson II is the chief executive officer of QVC Group, the parent company of QVC and HSN. The company ranks No. 416 on the Fortune 500 list. Rawlinson became CEO in 2021.<\/p>\n In a June 2023 Fortune interview, Rawlinson shared: \u201cEven in the dark days you have to be able to see through to the promise on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on February 28, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n #Black #Fortune #CEOs #leading #companies #worth #billion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thasunda Brown Duckett says sh… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[579,510,12341,12342,526,624,648,625,2279,133,1242,1243,882,12343,6326,78],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. Marvin R. Ellison<\/h2>\n
3. Thasunda Brown Duckett<\/h2>\n
4. Christopher C. Womack<\/h2>\n
5. Calvin Butler<\/h2>\n
6. David P. Bozeman<\/h2>\n
7. Michael Bender<\/h2>\n
8. Ren\u00e9 F. Jones<\/h2>\n
9. Joi Harris<\/h2>\n
10. David L. Rawlinson II<\/strong><\/h2>\n
More on the Black Fortune 500 CEOs leading the world\u2019s largest companies:<\/h2>\n
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