finance
Fortune Magazine Profiles Early Jobs of 2026 Most Powerful Women
The list highlights first roles held by executives now leading major companies. Profiles detail positions at retailers, airlines, and banks before their rise to chief executive roles.
May 29, 5:00 PM·2m read1 source
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The article states that many of the 100 leaders began in entry-level positions before reaching the C-suite. It notes that some worked on factory floors, stocked shelves, or served as flight attendants.
Jane Fraser, ranked number 1 and chair and CEO of Citigroup, started as a mergers and acquisitions analyst at Goldman Sachs after graduating from the University of Cambridge in 1988. She later moved to Spain, earned an MBA at Harvard Business School, spent ten years at McKinsey, and joined Citigroup in 2004 before becoming CEO in 2021.
Mary Barra, ranked number 2 and chair and CEO of General Motors, worked at a local grocery store and later as a quality inspector on the assembly line while attending General Motors Institute. She advanced through engineering and plant management roles and was named CEO in 2014.
Lisa Su, ranked number 3 and chair and CEO of AMD, began as a technical staff member at Texas Instruments after earning electrical engineering degrees from MIT. Julie Sweet, ranked number 4 and chair and CEO of Accenture, started at age 14 as a reservationist at a dinner theater.
Ana Botín, ranked number 5 and executive chair of Santander, began at J.P. Morgan in 1981 before returning to Spain to work at the family-led bank. Grace Wang, ranked number 8 and chairwoman and CEO of Luxshare, joined Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory in 1988 without completing college and later co-founded Luxshare.
Mitsuko Tottori, ranked number 27 and president and group CEO of JAL Group, started as a flight attendant at Japan Airlines in 1985 and was named CEO in 2024. Bela Bajaria, ranked number 35 and chief content officer at Netflix, began at a car wash before working at CBS and joining Netflix in 2016.
