*Fortune 500’s ranking includes eight Black CEOs, the most since the index debuted in 1955.

The ranking includes two Black executives for the first time: Christopher Womack and Calvin Butler Jr., who in December 2022 was named CEO of Exelon (No. 218). On May 24, Womack officially began his tenure as CEO at the gas and electric utility company Southern Company (No. 138).

“There are a plethora of talented, qualified, extraordinary leaders who happen to be Black. It’s never a surprise when they advance to the C-suite, or even to the CEO position,” said Laura Morgan Roberts, an associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Yahoo reports. 

“There are a plethora of Black leaders who are qualified for CEO positions, but they aren’t selected for those positions because they don’t necessarily have the relationships or fit the prototype of who the next CEO for said corporation should be,” said Roberts.

Below are the Black CEOs on the 2023 Fortune 500 list and their company’s rank:

Rosalind (Roz) Brewer
Company: Walgreens Boots Alliance

Tenure as CEO: Since March 2021

2023 rank: No. 27

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $132.7 billion

Marvin Ellison
Company: Lowe’s

Tenure as CEO: Since July 2018

2023 rank: No. 39

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $97.1 billion

Thasunda Brown Duckett
Company: TIAA

Tenure as CEO: Since May 2021

2023 rank: No. 103

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $40.9 billion

Christopher Womack
Company: Southern Company

Tenure as CEO: Since May 2023

2023 rank: No. 138

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $29.3 billion

Calvin Butler
Company: Exelon

Tenure as CEO: Since December 2022

2023 rank: No. 218

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $19.1 billion

Franklin Clyburn Jr.
Company: International Flavors & Fragrances

Tenure as CEO: Since February 2022

2023 rank: No. 332

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $12.4 billion

David Rawlinson II
Company: Qurate Retail

Tenure as CEO: Since October 2021

2023 rank: No. 342

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $12.1 billion

René Jones
Company: M&T Bank

Tenure as CEO: Since December 2017

2023 rank: No. 439

Fiscal year 2022 revenue: $8.6 billion

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