Two local Fortune 500 leaders have landed on a list by Fortune Magazine of the Most Powerful Women in Business.
On the list of 50 women, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry came in at No. 18, and Land O' Lakes CEO Beth Ford for was listed at No. 31. Both are relative newcomers to their positions – Ford got promoted to the top job last year, and Barry assumed her role as CEO earlier this summer.
Ford made headlines in 2018 as Land O' Lakes' first female CEO and the first openly gay woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. This is the second consecutive year that she has made Fortune's list of the Most Powerful Women in Business.
On this year's list, the magazine applauded Ford for "leading the farmer-owned co-op through a trying time for agriculture: trade wars, extreme weather, low commodity prices and changing consumer trends." In spite of these challenging conditions, Land O' Lakes increased its revenues by nearly nine percent to $15 billion last year.
Earlier this year, Fortune also named Ford one of its World's Greatest Leaders. She came in ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but behind Bill Gates.
Barry might be new to her position, but she's a veteran of Best Buy. Before taking on the top job in June, Barry spent two decades at the electronics retailer, most recently serving as the company's CFO. She is Best Buy's fifth CEO and the first women to hold the post. Barry, 44, is one of the youngest Fortune 500 CEOs.
Before becoming CEO, Fortune notes, Barry lead the company in "strategic transformation and growth [efforts]... laying the groundwork for the turnaround that propelled her up the executive ranks."
Fortune's list of the Most Powerful Women is compiled by its editors, who consider four criteria: the size and importance of the woman's business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman's career, as well as social and cultural influence.
Other notable names on this year's list include Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors; Ginni Rometty, chairman, president and CEO of IBM; and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO.
Ford and Barry are two of three women to lead a Minnesota Fortune 500 company. The other is Thrivent's Terry Rasmussen.
