Selected from a pool of 10,000 nominees, these four women are among the most inspiring, innovative and bold leaders nationwide, according to a recent Forbes ranking.
Four women to know:
Katalin Kariko, PhD. Age 66. Biochemist and Senior Vice President of BioNTech.
Dr. Kariko came to the U.S. from Hungary with her family in 1985, with just about $1,200 stuffed in a teddy bear for safekeeping. Her research in mRNA helped Pfizer and Moderna develop their COVID-19 vaccines.
Rosalind Brewer. Age 58. CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The daughter of assembly line workers at General Motors, Ms. Brewer became the only Black woman to run an S&P 500 company when she was appointed CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance in 2021. The corporation is the parent company to the pharmaceutical retail giant Walgreens. In 2019, she was the only Black woman to sit on Amazon's board. As the former COO of Starbucks, Ms. Brewer implemented policy changes and racial bias training in more than 8,000 stores.
Karen Lynch. Age 58. President and CEO of CVS Health.
Ms. Lynch began her career as a certified public accountant before developing a taste for the business side. She joined CVS as its executive vice president right when it was finishing up its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna in 2018. During the pandemic, Ms. Lynch led CVS' COVID-19 response and managed the largest number of independently run testing sites nationwide. She was appointed CEO of the company in February 2021.
Gail McGovern. Age 69. CEO of the American Red Cross.
When Ms. McGovern was selected as the CEO of the Red Cross in 2008, its reputation and finances needed rescuing. She consolidated resources of its 720 chapters, cut costs and increased efficiency. Ms. McGovern oversees 9,000 staff members and 300,000 volunteers, who respond to 60,000 disasters per year. Now, the Red Cross holds 40 percent of the nation's blood supply.