Meet The 9 Black CEOs Leading A Fortune 500 Company
Fortune has been ranking the 500 largest US companies by revenue and the 2,000-plus CEOs who have led them since 1955. Although the number of Black CEOs on the list has increased, only 28 of the chief executives on the list have been Black, according to Fortune.
Nine Black CEOs made the 2025 Fortune 500 list, with only two of them being Black women. Altogether, the nine companies they lead made up $244.76 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024.
Who are the nine Black CEOs that lead the Fortune 500?
Marvin Ellison – CEO of Lowe’s
Ellison became the CEO of Lowe‘s in 2018 and is the first Black executive to lead two different Fortune 500 companies, having previously served as the chief executive of J.C. Penney from 2015 to 2018. He has over 35 years of experience in retail leadership and operations, which began at Target, where he started as a part-time employee earning $4.35 an hour.
Thasunda Brown Duckett – CEO of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA)
Duckett joined TIAA as CEO in 2021 after holding key executive roles during a 17-year career at JP Morgan Chase, including CEO of the Consumer Bank and Auto Finance. She was the Director of Emerging Markets at Fannie Mae. Duckett has served on several boards, including Nike, Inc., Brex Inc., Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Sesame Workshop, and the National Medal of Honor Museum.
Toni Townes-Whitley – CEO of Science Applications International (SAIC)
Townes-Whitley became CEO of Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) in 2023. Her past roles include President of US Regulated Industries at Microsoft, where she led the company’s public sector and regulated commercial industries, including education, government, and healthcare. Before joining Microsoft, she worked at CGI Federal for over four years, first as Senior Vice President and then as President, responsible for a portfolio exceeding $1 billion.
Christopher Womack – CEO of Southern Company
Christopher Womack became the CEO of Southern Company in 2023 before serving as the chairman, president, and CEO of Georgia Power, Southern Company’s largest subsidiary. He also worked on Capitol Hill for the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC, serving as a legislative aide for former Congressman Leon E. Panetta and as staff director for the Subcommittee on Personnel and Police for the Committee on House Administration.
Calvin Butler Jr. – CEO of Exelon
Butler JR. Became CEO of Exelon in 2022, but joined the company in 2008. Before joining Exelon, he had several leadership roles at R.R. Donnelley. He spent his early career with Central Illinois Light Company (CILCORP, Inc.), where he worked in government affairs, legal, and strategy. In 2024, Savoy magazine named Butler as one of the “Most Influential Executives” in America.
Dave Bozeman – CEO of C.H. Robinson Worldwide
C.H. Robinson appointed Dave Bozeman its chief executive in 2023, bringing 30 years of experience with middle-mile transportation, manufacturing, digital, and customer service to the company. Bozeman previously served as Vice President of the Ford Customer Service Division and Vice President of Enthusiast Vehicles for Ford Blue at Ford Motor Company.
Michael Bender – CEO of Kohl’s
Bender has served as director and interim CEO of Kohl’s since July 2019. He has over three decades of senior leadership experience at prominent retailers, including Walmart, Victoria’s Secret, and Eyemart Express. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eyemart Express, LLC, and was Executive Vice President and President of the Walmart West business.
René Jones – CEO of M&T Bank
Jones became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of M&T Bank in 2017. He was also elected a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2022. He joined M&T as part of the Executive Associates Program in 1992. During his tenure at the company, he held several key positions in the finance division before being appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2005.
David Rawlinson II – CEO of QVC Group
Rawlinson II was appointed as CEO of QVC Group, Inc. in 2021. He joined the company after serving as the CEO at NielsenIQ. Previously, he served as President of Grainger Global Online. Rawlinson II serves on the boards of directors of numerous companies, including QVC Group, Inc., Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), NielsenIQ, and the National Retail Federation.
Image: Bloomberg
