Many of the world’s leaders started from scratch and, over time, have become true giants of reference for their careers. Currently, the influence of a good leader is measured by their achievements as a determining factor of a good image of the company and, above all, by their impact on social networks and on society.
CEOs have become opinion leaders, hence their importance for a company and a brand. But what is a CEO? A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is a concept in which its translation varies depending on the country, but in general terms it is the executive director.
He is the person in charge of playing the role of leader and maximum representative of the company, therefore, he has to make important decisions and ensure the correct fulfillment of the brand’s objectives.
The failure or success of the company will depend on its management. But his performance does not mean that he is the highest authority in a company, nor is it correct to confuse him with the founder, although sometimes they can be the same person.
In this business world there is a representative gender gap, since approximately 96% of CEO positions are occupied by men. The fact that a woman occupies a management position in a company can generate many advantages, but in most cases it is more difficult for women to reach these positions.
However, there are women CEOs with outstanding careers and performance, who have demonstrated that the only characteristic necessary for the position of CEO is leadership capacity. In this article, three important professionals are highlighted who, with their efforts, have become CEO of large companies.
MARILLYN HEWSON
This businesswoman has a degree in Administration and also has a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Alabama. He has also been present studying at the Columbia University Business School.
He began working at a young age at the aeronautical and defense material multinational Lockheed Martin. In 2013, after holding various positions of responsibility, she reached the top management position, executive director.
Since that year, with his position as CEO he has skillfully directed the company’s position and thanks to the programs developed, especially the F-35 fighter aircraft, the company has addressed military needs and increased its market value.
Hewson has also focused on international expansion and to stay at the forefront of the sector is developing a supersonic aircraft with the aim of achieving low sonic boom.
The CEO also sits on other boards of directors of different companies such as DuPont Corporation and Sandia National Laboratories. Last year he received the Edison Award for innovation in his work.
MARY BARRA
This businesswoman graduated in Electrical Engineering. His performance at university helped him obtain a scholarship from General Motors to study for a master’s degree in Business Administration at Stanford Graduate School.
He started working for this automobile company at a plant in Pontiac, where he was in charge of technical work. From then on, his rise was very rapid, yes, all related to the engineering and administration sector.
In her years at the company she held positions as vice president of Global Manufacturing Engineering, vice president of Global Human Resources and executive vice president of Global Product Development.
After a long experience in the company, she held the position of executive director, establishing herself as the first woman in the automobile company to hold this position.
Barra focused trade in China and North America, in addition to investing resources in the development of electric and autonomous vehicles that are respectful of the environment. General Motors is one of the global businesses that does not have a gender pay gap, which led it to position itself in first place in 2018 in the Global Report on Gender Equality.
MARISSA MAYER
This businesswoman graduated with honors in Symbol System and has a master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, where she specialized in artificial intelligence. At the end of his studies, the university awarded him the Centennial Teacher Forythe award for his excellent work.
Before entering the new millennium, Mayer joined the Google engineering team, being the first woman to participate in this group. Shortly after joining this company, she was given the position of director of Interface Teams for the web servers.
Over the years she gained experience and became vice president of Search Products and User Experience, a position she left in 2012. In that same year, Mayer was appointed executive director of Yahoo!, the direct competition of the giant Google, a position she held until 2017. In her years with this company, the value of the company grew a lot, thanks to acquisitions such as Tumblr.
Currently, she is the founder, along with Enrique Muñoz Torres, of Lumi Labs, an early-stage technology studio with headquarters in Palo Alto. They are focused on creating consumer applications enabled by artificial intelligence.
As you can see in a sector dominated by men, a woman’s skills can come in as a breath of fresh air. These powerful professionals give a life lesson that allows us to visualize a future where women and men will have the same responsibilities in any field.
This post is also available in: