The Most Powerful Female CEOs in the Business World

From Mary Barra to Sheryl Sandberg, the most powerful female CEOs in the business world have one thing in mind: growth. As some of the most strong-willed, intelligent women in the world, these business owners work each day to make their company the best there is.

PepsiCo, General Motors, Facebook, International Business Machines Corporation, Fidelity Investments, and Oracle Corporation are just some of the successful businesses led by powerful women.

Mary Barra

Mary Barra is one of the most powerful female CEOs in the business world, if not the most powerful. As CEO of the General Motors Company, Barra has served this title since 2014, and was recently elected Chairman of the GM Board of Directors in 2016.

Since accepting her position as CEO, she has been the first female CEO of the company. In August of 2017, Barra was elected to the board of Disney, as the 12th seat on the board. She has been listed as one of the world's most powerful women five times by Forbes magazine.

Indra Nooyi

Next on our list of the most powerful female CEOs is PepsiCo's CEO, Indra Nooyi. As an Indian American business executive, Nooyi holds the position of Chairperson for the second largest food and beverage business in the world.

Forbes too has ranked her as one of the most powerful women in the world, as well as Fortune's list in 2015, where she was ranked 2nd. Nooyi's goal as CEO of PepsiCo is to push the company toward "healthier offerings." She attended Yale University's School of Management and resides in the Greater New York City Area.

Isabelle Kocher

As CEO of the world's largest non-state owned electrical company, Isabella Kocher serves as the chief executive officer of Engie. She has held this title since May of 2016 and has set the company's aim for success.

To do so, she is ending coal use and aiming for solar and wind power as a replacement. The company is now ahead of schedule in their plan to expand their investment in renewable energy. She has the momentum that Engie needs to move toward transformation.

Marillyn Hewson

She is the CEO of Lockheed Martin, an American global aerospace. Marillyn Hewson is one of the most powerful female CEOs in the business world. Named to Forbes' most powerful women in the world, Hewson's company recently bought Sikorsky Aircraft, as they increase their reliance on military hardware.

Some of her goals as CEO are to bring costs down for the company's jets, especially after President Trump's remarks on the prices were seen globally. She has also promise to create almost 2,000 U.S. jobs.

Ginni Rometty

As the president, CEO, and chairman of the International Business Machines Corporation, Ginni Rometty is one of the most powerful women in the business world. As the head of the multinational technology company, Rometty has brought the company out of their declining revenue growth.

The 36-year-old is the first woman to head the company after first beginning her career with IBM in 1981. She held a plethora of different titles, until she finally reached her ultimate goal as CEO. Her goals as chairman include transitioning the business into a data company.

Sheryl Sandberg

As Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg is one of the most powerful female CEOs in the business world. As her services have helped boost revenues on Facebook drastically, her hands-on work is thanks to her focus on online advertising programs.

She also has founded Lean In, a nonprofit, which is named after her bestselling book, filled with both feminist and business quotes for wisdom. The nonprofit was created to support women's empowerment. As a technology executive, her skillset is unmatchable and will aid in Facebook's success.

Abigail Johnson

As the CEO and President of Fidelity Investments, a multinational financial services corporation, Abigail Johnson is one of the most powerful chairwomen in the business world. Her grandfather originally founded the company, and her father is the FMR chairman emeritus.

The year she first joined the company full-time was 1988, as she worked her way to the top of the company by 2014, when she took her father's role. She also owns a 24.5% stake in the firm, which is worth over two trillion dollars. As one of the most powerful women in the business world, she has aided Fidelity toward their $15.9 billion in revenue in 2016, and plans to continue their climb to even greater success.

Emma Walmsley

As CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, Emma Walmsley is the first woman to run the pharmaceutical company. She took this role in 2017 after Sir Andrew Witty retired.

As one of the most powerful female CEOs, Walmsley first began her career with L'Oréal, and worked for them for 17 years. After her time with the beauty company, she joined GlaxoSmithKline in 2010, as she rose to success, and made history for the company.

Meg Whitman

Meg Whitman is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, an American multinational enterprise information technology company in California.

Meg Whitman is most known for her President and CEO title of eBay from 1998 to 2008, as she made the company's $5.7 million into $8 billion in sales. She is also a former Hasbro and Walt Disney executive.

Safra Catz

To complete our list of the most powerful female CEOs, we couldn't forget about Safra Catz. Catz is the executive of the Oracle Corporation, and has been part of the company since 1999.

The Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation, which specialized in marketing software and technology, as well as enterprise software products. She is one of the top paid female executives in the world, and earned over $40 million in 2016.