As the country recovers from one of the greatest economic trials in history, “Black Enterprise” magazine reveals its latest list of the 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America.
The final tally includes eight CEOs, 5 division chief executives, and a host of top executives that significantly contribute to their company’s revenues. Each executive holds a senior management position at one of the top 1,000 publicly traded companies or at an international corporation grossing revenues of $1 billion or more.
“When we published our first list of top black executives in 1988, we identified just 25 people, with no CEOs and no women on the list,” Black Enterprise President Earl Graves Jr. said. “Our current list of 100 men and women in executive leadership includes eight CEOs, and were culled from a pool of nearly 1,000 candidates. This is evidence of the undeniable progress, achievements and contributions of black executive talent to the global competitiveness of America’s largest corporations.”
The eight African American executives who currently hold the title of CEO: Ursula M. Burns, Chairman & CEO, Xerox Corp.; Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman and CEO, American Express; Steven A. Davis, Chairman & CEO, Bob Evans Farms Inc.; Roger W. Ferguson Jr., President & CEO, TIAA-CREF; Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, President & CEO, Merck & Co. Inc.; Rodney O’Neal, CEO & President, Delphi Corp.; Clarence Otis Jr., Chairman & CEO, Darden Restaurants; and Don Thompson, President & CEO, McDonald’s Corp.
Twenty companies have multiple executives on the list. American Express, Ford Motor Co., Merck & Co. Inc. and Pepsi Co. lead the way with four, followed by Walmart Stores Inc., FedEx Express and General Mills with three. The thirteen companies that boast two executives on the list are Xerox Corp., Bob Evans Farms Inc., Delphi Corp., McDonald’s Corp., Sprint Nextel Corp., Entergy Corp., General Mills, Walgreens, Nationwide, UPS, Dupont, Pfizer, and Leggett & Platt.
The selection criteria and comprehensive profiles of the 100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America are available in the September 2012 issue of “Black Enterprise.”
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