Thasunda Brown Duckett

Appointed as CEO in 2021, Duckett was quick to make an impact at the more than 100-year-old financial-services company TIAA. In her first year and a half, she has pushed the firm to record-high operating margins, though the company’s revenue growth was flat in 2022. Throughout her career, including in her previous executive role at Chase Consumer Banking, Duckett has focused on financial inclusion and expanding opportunities to diverse communities. Yet Duckett’s own role underscores the lack of diversity in America’s corner offices: The resignation of Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer in August 2023 left Duckett as the only Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company until Toni Townes-Whitley became CEO of SAIC in October.