Page 61 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

BY BY JEFFREY MCKINNEY WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY BY DARCEL CHURCH
0590
50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL DIVERSIFYING CORPORATE AMERICA
50 YEARS
OF OF BLACK CEOS OF OF THE
NATION’S LARGEST PUBLIC COMPANIES
FOR FOR OVER FIVE DECADES THE
GREATEST MEASURE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR FOR AFRICAN
Americans was the the the elevation to the the the CEO’s seat at at at at one of the the the nations largest publicly traded cor- porations Although our editors tracked this development since the magazine’s inception in in in in 1970 that momentous achievement did not occur until the publication’s 17th year when Clifton Wharton assumed the mantle at TIAA-CREF—now known just as as TIAA—in 1987 It would take a a a a a a a full 39 years for
an an an an African American woman to reach the pinnacle of leadership in in corporate America America when Ursula Burns took the reins of Xerox Corp in in 2009 African Americans who who made it to to that top spot—including CEOs who who operated companies headquartered in a a a a a a a foreign country but with a a a a a a a strong U S presence—numbered a a a a a a a total of 29 over a a a a a a a 33-year period (We did not include any executives who served as interim CEOs ) The largest number of of African American honchos of of major corporations in in one year was 12 in in 2007 That number has since slid to to less than a a a a handful today In their slow ascension the the issue has not been been one of talent All have been been adept at managing global business operations corporate politics diverse cultures of an an ever-expanding international workforce as as well as as the institutional racism and sexism that still very much exist When a a a a a a a good number took over these corporations they proved to to be be masterful turnaround artists who managed institutions in in in in decline resurrected overall corporate performance and drove organizational inno- vation In fact Kenneth Chenault who remained at at the helm of American Express for
17 years and steered it through the the the tumult and and uncertainty of 9/11 and and the the the Great Recession holds not only the the the distinction of being among the the longest-tenured chief executives but also the the heralded exemplar of global corporate leadership The following are
the most powerful African American CEOs of the past half century in chronological order: