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Black Chairman & CEO's of Fortune 500 Companies

The "Fortune 500"  is a list of the 500 largest companies in the United States as compiled by Fortune magazine. Only 18 black executives have ever made it to the Chairman or CEO position of a "Fortune 500" listed company. Of these 18 executives, there are currently 4 CEO's and 1 non CEO Chairman active, representing less than 1% of the Fortune 500 top leadership.

In 1987, Dr. Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. became Chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF — distinguishing him as the first black CEO of a Fortune 500 company. 

Franklin Raines became the second black person to lead a "Fortune 500" company, when he became CEO of Fannie Mae in 1999. 

Only two black women have ever led a Fortune 500 company. On July 1, 2009, Ursula Burns became the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company. Ms. Burns stepped down as the CEO of Xerox in late 2016, following the completion of the separation of Xerox into two independent, publicly-traded companies. She served as chairman of the board of the post-separation Document Technology company from 2010 to 2017.

Mary A. Winston was the second black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. She served as the interim CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond between May and November 2019.

Black executive representation in the C-suite of America's largest companies has been on the decline. Marvin Ellison, who served as chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney for nearly three years and helped to revive the struggling department store chain, left the company in May 2018, to become head of Lowe’s. Kenneth Chenault stepped down as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express at the end of January 2018. He was the fourth black CEOs to have retired over the last three years. Ursula Burns left her post as head of Xerox in 2016 when the company split in two, and Rodney O'Neal retired from his role as CEO and president of Delphi in 2015. Don Thompson retired as CEO of McDonald's in 2015, as well.

There are currently no black majority owned company in the Fortune 500 rankings.

Updated: 2020/03/04

Current Fortune 500 Chairman & CEO's

John W. Thompson

Born: April 24, 1949, in Fort Dix, New Jersey Position: Chairman, Board of Directors, Company: Microsoft Corporation, Industry: Technology …

Kenneth C. Frazier

Born: December 17, 1954, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Position: Chairman, Chief Executive Officer; Company: Merck & Co., Inc.; Industry: Health…

Marvin Ellison

Born: Brownsville, Tennessee, USA; Occupation: Businessman; Position: President and CEO; Company: Lowe's Companies, Inc.; Industry: Retail; …

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.

Born: October 28, 1951, Washington, D.C.; Position: President and CEO; Company: TIAA-CREF; Industry: Insurance; Country: United States

Former Fortune 500 Chairman & CEO's

Aylwin Lewis

Born: May 28, 1954, Houston, TX.; Position: Former CEO and President; Company: Potbelly Sandwich Works; Industry: Food Services; Country: United…

Clarence Otis, Jr.

Born: April 11, 1956, Vicksburg, Mississippi; Position: Former Chief Executive Officer and President; Company: Darden Restaurants, Inc.; Industry:…

Clifton R. Wharton Jr.

Born: September 13, 1926, Boston, MA; Position: former chairman, CEO; Company: TIAA-CREF; Industry: Insurance; Country: United States

Don Thompson

Born: March 30, 1963, Chicago, IL.; Company: Cleveland Avenue, LLC; Position: Founder, CEO; Industry: Venture Capital & Private Equity; Country:…

Franklin Delano Raines

Born: January 14, 1949, Seattle, Washington Company: Revolution LLC Position: Director Industry: Financial Services Country: United States

Jide J. Zeitlin

Born: c. 1964, Ibadan, Nigeria; Occupation: Businessman; Position: former Chairman, CEO; Company: Tapestry, Inc. ; Industry: Apparel,…

Kenneth Chenault

Kenneth I. Chenault

Born: June 2, 1951, New York, New York; Company: General Catalyst Partners; Position: Chairman, managing director; Industry: Venture capital; …

Lloyd D. Ward

Company: CleanTech Solutions Worldwide, LLC, Position: Chairman and CEO, Industry: Waste Management Services, Food Manufacturing, Country:…

Mary A. Winston

Born: c. 1962, USA; Occupation: Businessperson; Position: Co-Founder and President; Company: WinsCo Enterprises Inc.; Industry: Business…

Richard Parsons

Richard Dean Parson

Born: April 4, 1948, Brooklyn, NY; Position: Co-founder and Partner; Company: Imagination Capital; Industry: Venture Capital; Country: United…

Rodney O'Neal

Born: c. 1954 Company: Delphi Corporation Position: Chief Executive Officer and President Industry: Automotive Country: United States

Ronald A. Williams

Born: 1949, Chicago, Illinois, United States Company: RW2 Enterprises Position: Chairman and CEO Industry: Health Care Country: United States

Stanley O'Neal

Born: Oct. 7, 1951, Roanoke, Ala. Company: Alcoa Inc. Position: Director Industry: Financial Services Country: United States

Ursula M. Burns

Born: New York, New York, September 20, 1958; Position: former Chairman and CEO; Company: Xerox Corporation; Industry: Information technology; …