Good morning! Melania Trump breaks White House traditions, ex-OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati builds her new team, and a new Fortune ranking reminds us of how far women still have to go in the business world.
– The very top. This week, Fortune published its first-ever list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business. If that name sounds familiar, well, it may be because readers of this newsletter are well acquainted with our longstanding Most Powerful Women (MPW) list and franchise.
The Most Powerful People list includes both men and women—which leads to a very different ranking. One of the hallmarks of the MPW list is an element of discovery—many women in business wield enormous power behind the scenes, without dominating the headlines. The MPW list also pays special attention to women who may influence business for years to come, like executives who hold roles other than CEO but are prime CEO successor candidates or otherwise expected to continue to rise in their careers.
The Most Powerful People list has a different purpose: to analyze the business world as it is today, not as we wish it could be. Many familiar MPWs—from Ruth Porat at Alphabet to Kathryn McLay at Walmart—are missing from the Most Powerful People list because its methodology gave less weight to No. 2s than No. 1s, the rationale being that if you have a powerful boss, that limits your power (though certainly not your potential, we would expect many of these powerful No. 2s to someday make the MPP list). You can read about the rest of the methodology here.
The Most Powerful People list is dominated by business titans. Elon Musk is ranked No. 1—a designation that, whatever your opinion on Musk, is hard to argue with now that he’s seen as critical in delivering a presidential election for Donald Trump and tapped to head up the “department of government efficiency.” He’s followed by Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Warren Buffett, and JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon.
There are 18 women out of 100 people on the Most Powerful People list—a reflection of the realities of the business world, where women run about 10% of Fortune 500 companies. The top-ranked woman is GM CEO Mary Barra, at No. 9, who was No. 1 on this year’s MPW list (and on the cover of Fortune’s October issue). The other women on the Most Powerful People list include Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, GSK chief Emma Walmsley, Oracle leader Safra Catz, AMD chief Lisa Su, and more. Some rise up the Most Powerful People list compared to their MPW ranking—Anthropic cofounder and MPW list No. 94 Daniela Amodei, for example, is paired with her cofounder and brother Dario and, thus, together they come in at No. 48.
You can peruse the rest of the Most Powerful People list here. Fortune is as committed as ever to our MPW coverage, and the Most Powerful People list, in a way, shows how important that is. While women still wield a fraction of the influence their male peers do in the business world, it’s critical that we cover those who do—and those who will in the future.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- From Dem to Trump. Donald Trump has selected Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman, as his director of national intelligence. Gabbard left the Democratic Party and campaigned for Trump; her selection is likely to lead to a confirmation fight. CNN
- Break with tradition. Melania Trump is unlikely to move into the White House full time once she becomes first lady. She also decided to skip meeting with first lady Jill Biden; a meeting between the outgoing and incoming first ladies is a White House tradition. CNN
- Assembling the team. Former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati is building a team for her new venture. Mianna Chen left her OpenAI research program manager position and is joining Murati. Other OpenAI employees working with Murati: Barret Zoph and Luke Metz. The Information
- Podcast pause. Kamala Harris’s plans to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast during her presidential campaign were reportedly scuttled over fears of backlash from progressives who object to some of Rogan’s past stances, including use of the N-word and against COVID vaccines. That decision is now questioned after Harris’s loss and Donald Trump’s stronghold with young men, millions of whom listen to Rogan. Financial Times
- Author awards. Orbital by Samantha Harvey won this year’s Booker Prize, making Harvey the first female author to be awarded the prize since 2019. The novel is set on the International Space Station and was selected over five other shortlisted novels. New York Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
TechSilo, a technical solutions provider for U.S. security and defense, named Rachel Bepko CEO. She previously founded and was executive director of SongFarm.org.
Health Network One, a specialty provider networks management company, named Heyward Donigan chief executive officer. Previously, she served as CEO of Rite Aid.
Lathrop GPM appointed Paige Keith to chief financial officer. Previously, she was the law firm’s director of pricing and legal project management.
Genpact, a professional services and solutions firm, named Jinsook Han chief strategy and corporate development officer. Most recently, Han was a cloud, engineering, data, and AI partner at PwC.
GenScript Biotech, a gene synthesis and life-science technologies company, named Aylin Kosova Bilgi chief marketing officer. Most recently, she was CMO and associate at The CMO Syndicate.
Camunda, a process orchestration company, appointed Barbie Brewer as chief people officer. Previously, she was chief people officer at Safe Security.
Synovus, a financial services company, appointed Anne Fortner as executive vice president, chief credit officer. Most recently, she was the company’s SVP and deputy chief credit officer.
Rain the Growth Agency, an advertising agency, named Rachel Baker SVP, head of video investment and partnerships. She was most recently SVP, managing director of video investment at Horizon Next.
I Squared Capital, an infrastructure investment manager, named Patricia Menéndez Cambó general counsel. Most recently, she was managing partner and deputy general counsel at SoftBank Group.
State Street Corporation, a financial services provider for investors, appointed Patricia Halliday to its board of directors. She was previously chief risk officer at Santander UK.
ON MY RADAR
Nancy Pelosi insists the election was not a rebuke of the Democrats New York Times
The new pro-life playbook New Yorker
How one woman became the scapegoat for America’s reading crisis The Atlantic
PARTING WORDS
“[W]omen are the most powerful individuals. It’s absolutely incredible what we go through. We’re just so strong. I’m so amazed and enamored and also terrified of all of it at the same time.”
— Actor Sydney Sweeney on what she took away from filming birth scenes in Immaculate and Eden
