Most inspirational women CEOs leading listed companies on the Stock Exchange, 2021

Some women are capable enough combining leadership roles in giant companies with being good mothers and supportive partners for their husbands. In this article, we present ten female CEOs with significant qualifications.

1. Mary Barra – General Motors Company
   Mary Barra started working for General Motors in 1980 when she was 18 years old. She went through several positions and finally in January 2014 she was appointed at the position of chairman and CEO of General Motors Company, becoming the first female head of an automobile manufacturer.

   Barra holds many awards and honors for her achievements as the leading figure of an automobile manufacturer. At the same time, she is a caring wife and mother. During 2020, the full-year income of General Motors reached 6,4 billion dollars while the full-year automotive operating cash flow was 7.5 billion dollars. Full-year EBIT-adjusted reached 9.7 billion dollars. One of the main goals of the company is to be carbon neutral by 2040 in its global products and operations.

2. Corie Barry – Best Buy Co., Inc.
   Corie Barry is the CEO of the company since June 2019. Barry holds undergraduate degrees in management and accounting from the College of St. Benedict. Despite the difficult economic environment due to the Covid-19 crisis, Barry announced strong financial results during the third quarter of 2020, which ended on October 31, 2020. More specifically, the company reached a profitability standpoint as the sales were better than expected, resulting in significant operating income rate, expansion, and earnings growth. Domestic revenue of $10.85 billion increased 21.0% versus last year while international revenue of $1.0 billion increased 25.4% versus last year.
3. Mary Dillon – Ulta Beauty, Inc.
   She has been the CEO of Ulta Beauty, a beauty retail company, since July 2013. On May 31, 2019, Dillon announced plans for Ulta to expand its business internationally, beginning with store openings in Canada. Dillon has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Asian Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ulta Beauty offers more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. The stock price of Ulta Beauty on Nasdaq was 334.08 dollars on February 24th, 2021. For the 3rd quarter of 2020, the company’s net income reached $74.8 million or $1.32 per diluted share. Adjusted net income reached $92.5 million or $1.64 adjusted per diluted share. Net sales decreased 7.8% to $1.6 billion compared to $1.7 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 due to the impact of Covid-19.
4. Joanne Crevoiserat – Tapestry, Inc.
   Joanne Crevoiserat started her career at Tapestry in 2019 as CFO. She serves as CEO of the company since July 2020. Crevoiserat holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Connecticut. The company’s portfolio includes modern luxury lifestyle brands such as the Coach, the Kate Spade New York, and the Stuart Weitzman. The stock price on February 24th, 2021 was at $41.69 (NYSE). Crevoiserat, commenting on the performance of the company at first half of 2020, said that ” I am confident that Tapestry will emerge from the pandemic stronger, well-positioned to capture market share at higher levels of profitability and fully unlock the flywheel of sustainable growth”.
5. Barbara Rentler – Ross Stores, Inc.
   Barbara Rentler joined Ross Stores in February 1986. She currently serves as the CEO of the company. In 2019, Rentler was named to Forbes list of America’s Most Innovative Leaders. Although 99 men were included in the list, Rentler was the only woman named. Ross Stores, Inc. is an S&P 500, Fortune 500, and Nasdaq 100 (ROST) company headquartered in Dublin, California, with fiscal 2019 revenues of $16.0 billion. The stock price of the company on Nasdaq was 123.61 dollars on February 24th, 2021.
6. Sonia Syngal – Gap Inc.
   Sonia Syngal holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University and she also obtained a master’s degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Stanford University. She serves as the CEO, president, and director at Gap, Inc. since March 2020. The stock price of Gap Inc. on February 24th, 2021 was at $25.95 (NYSE). During the 3rd quarter of 2020, the company registered a 61% increase in online sales. Also, the company announced that acquired 3.4 million new customers through its online channel, representing over 145% growth in new online customer acquisition year-over-year.
7. Michele Buck – Hershey Company
   In March 2017, Michele Buck became the first female Chairman, President, and CEO of The Hershey Company, an American food manufacturing company, replacing former CEO John Bilbrey. She holds a bachelor’s degree of business administration from the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining Hershey in 2005, Buck served 17 years at Kraft/Nabisco in numerous senior positions and at the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. The closing stock price of the company on February 24th, 2021 was 147.57 dollars. For the fourth quarter 2020 the company announced consolidated net sales of $2,185.2 million, an increase of 5.7%. Reported net income reached $291.4 million, or $1.39 per share-diluted, an increase of 41.8%.
8. Linda Rendle – The Clorox Company
   Linda Rendle became Clorox’s CEO in September of 2020, at the age of 42. She first joined Clorox in 2003 as a senior sales analyst. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University. The Clorox Company reported sales growth of 27% and an increase in diluted net earnings per share (diluted EPS) of 39% for its second quarter of the fiscal year 2021, which ended on December 31, 2020. Year-to-date net cash provided by operations was $629 million, compared to $498 million in the year-ago period — an increase of 26%. The company has 8,800 employees worldwide.
9. Michelle Gass – Kohl’s Corporation
   Michelle Gass was appointed as the CEO and Director of Kohl’s Corporation in May 2018. The company has been recognized by Ethisphere as one of the 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Third-quarter fiscal 2020 comparable sales decreased 13.3% while the company registered a strong operating cash flow year-to-date of $910 million. Also, the third-quarter fiscal 2020 loss per share reached $0.08.
10. Sue Y Nabi – Coty Inc.
    She was named CEO of the company in July 2020. Sue Y. Nabi is also the founder of vegan skincare line Orveda, which launched in 2017. Nabi previously spent 20 years at L’Oreal. She holds an advanced master’s degree in Marketing Management from ESSEC Business School. The net revenue of the company for the fiscal year 2020 was 4,717.8 million dollars.