Three Female Voices of Experience among BusinessWeek’s Top 50
This week, BusinessWeek released its Top 50 list of all-star performers. The list identifies top performers across the 10 sectors that make up the S&P 500. BusinessWeek notes that this list of executives is the most international ever, with companies across the globe represented. Trends emerged in the energy sector, where winning performers were able to capitalize on higher energy costs, and in the housing sector, where rising stars were able to take advantage of the housing boom before it went bust.
In an increasingly global market place, you might expect increased diversity among those represented on this list. While the list might be ethnically diverse, gender diversity is lagging a bit behind. Of the 50 top performers on the list, only three are women. Moreover, two out of these three women run companies in traditionally “female” industries such as cosmetics and women’s apparel. Where are the women titans of technology and industry? The female real estate moguls and energy company big shots?
Hats off to these three women profiled below, who have broken the glass ceiling. However, much more needs to be done. These voices of experience are certainly valuable, and women just getting their start in business and finance would do well to learn from them. However, their voices risk being drowned out by the male-dominated nature of the rest of the list. Let’s hope that next year’s list is the most gender-balanced since BusinessWeek began publishing such rankings in 1997.
- Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon Products. With $9.9 billion in sales and $530.7 million in profits in 2007, its hard to resist the obvious reference that Avon execs are sitting pretty. Andrea Jung, the company’s vibrant CEO and a Glass Hammer favorite, is largely responsible for the turnaround at that company. Taking a once flagging brand name associated with door-to-door sales by bored housewives and reinvigorating it into a globally recognized cosmetic brand was no easy task, but Jung has succeeded admirably. The sales reps are still key to the company’s infrastructure, and Jung wants to up their numbers, now at 5.4 million world wide. But add to that mix a sophisticated ad campaign and plans of more restructuring to come, and this company is on the rise. Indeed, revenue was up 13% last year. A recession might even help this company, as people looking to make up lost income might be encouraged to sign up as part-time reps.
- Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo. Another woman often mentioned in the pages of The Glass Hammer for her vision and global leadership. With global sales of $39.5 billion and net income of $5.7 billion, this beverage giant might finally be winning the war against competitor Coca Cola. Soda isn’t the only secret to this company’s success though. Ms. Nooyi has leveraged her international background to improve penetration into emerging markets like India and China, and has expanded the company’s revenue from snack items, particularly healthier options. While consumers in the US might be cutting back on consumer goods, Pepsi’s international revenues grew by 26% last year and made up 40% of global revenue. We’ll drink to that!
- Carol Meyrowitz, CEO of TJX. The female CEO of this apparel retail company is new to the pages of The Glass Hammer, and its nice to see a fresh face among the top women performers who grace our pages. Ms. Meyrowitz has stared down the overall decline in consumer spending and kept sales at discount retail chains strong. As a result, off-price retailers T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods have fared relatively well under her leadership at TJX. Though many competing retail outlets of home décor items have taken a beating recently, the HomeGoods chain has really taken off, with 3% growth at stores that had been open for one year or more. But the inventory seems to have the right mix of quality and value, and Ms. Meyrowitz has demonstrated a keen eye for merchandising and managing inventory, so expect this company to weather the economic storm with her at the helm.
