Page 11 - Time Magazine, Sep. 17, 2018

Beth Ford
First openly gay woman to become CEO
of a Fortune 500 company
When Beth Ford was in her 30s, work-
ing in book publishing in New York
City, she took a jog by the river with
the woman who would become her
wife. Ford knew that many face work-
place discrimination for being gay, but
when they bumped into her CEO on
the street, she took a chance and in-
troduced Jill Schurtz as her partner.
She was confident that she could be a
leader without hiding her identity.
Now, two decades later, Ford is a
CEO herself. The 54-year-old mother
of three from Iowa was named chief
executive of Land O’Lakes on July 26,
making her not only one of 25 women
to lead Fortune 500 companies but also
the first ever openly gay woman to hold
that position.
Since taking the role, Ford has
spent packed days meeting sharehold-
ers and board members, assembling
her team and traveling the country to
meet with farmers. After a career that