Category: Business Executive

Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina


Carly Fiorina is a business executive who was a Republican candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. She served as chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005, the first woman to lead a Fortune 50 business. Fiorina was born September 6, 1954, in Austin, Texas. She received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and medieval history from Stanford University in 1976. In 1980, she earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, and in 1989, she earned a Master of Science in business from the […]
Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates


Melinda Gates is a philanthropist and a former executive at Microsoft. In 2019, Gates pledged to commit $1 billion over 10 years to expand gender equality in the United States, with three priorities: dismantling barriers to women’s professional advancement; fast-tracking women in sectors with significant impact on society; and mobilizing shareholders, consumers and employees to increase pressure on companies and organizations to reform. Gates was born on August 15, 1964, in Dallas, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree in computer science and economics from Duke University in 1986 and an […]
Karen Hughes
Karen Hughes


Karen Hughes served as the under-secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs in the U.S. Department of State from 2005 to 2007. Hughes was born on December 27, 1956, in Paris, France, to American parents Patricia and Harold Parfitt, the last U.S. governor of the Panama Canal Zone. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in journalism from Southern Methodist University in 1977. She began her career as a television news reporter for KXAS-TV, the NBC affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth. Prior […]
Sara Jacobs
Sara Jacobs


Sara Jacobs assumed office as the U.S. representative for California's 53rd congressional district on Jan. 3, 2021. Following redistricting, she was elected to serve the 51st District in 2022. Jacobs was born on February 1, 1989, in Encinitas, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and government from Columbia University and her Master of Arts in international relations and affairs from Columbia University. In 2011 she became a Peacekeeping/Development employee for the United Nations and then an Innovation Unit employee for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency […]
Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett


Valerie Jarrett is a businesswoman and former government official who was the longest-serving senior advisor to President Barack Obama. She has been the chief executive officer of the Obama Foundation since 2021. Jarrett was born November 14, 1956, in Shiraz, Iran to American parents, moving with her family to London at age five and then to Chicago in 1962. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Stanford University in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Jarrett began working in the […]
Mary E Kramer
Mary E Kramer


Mary E. Kramer served as U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean from 2004 to 2006. Prior to serving as ambassador, Kramer served in the Iowa state Senate from 1990 to 2003. She was elected president of the Senate in 1997, becoming the first independently elected woman to fill the post. Kramer was born June 14, 1935, in Burlington, Iowa, and grew up in Iowa City. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in piano performance and a Master of Arts in education, both from the University of Iowa. For […]
Harriet Burton Laidlaw
Harriet Burton Laidlaw


Harriet Burton Laidlaw was a New York suffragist, reformer, and peace activist. Laidlaw was born on December 16, 1873 in Albany, New York. When she was six, her father died and the family moved in with his parents. She completed both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pedagogy and taught public school in New York City. She received various degrees from Barnard College, Illinois Wesleyan University and Columbia University, while also taking courses at Harvard University and the University of Chicago. In 1905, she left teaching to marry James Lees Laidlaw, […]
Anita Malik
Anita Malik


Anita Malik was a Democratic candidate for Arizona's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, but lost in the primary. She was also the 2018 Democratic nominee for Arizona's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Malik was born on January 5, 1976, in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved to Arizona when she was seven years old. She earned Bachelor of Science degrees in computer information systems and finance from Arizona State University in 1998, and a Master of Arts in journalism from the […]
Linda McMahon
Linda McMahon


Linda McMahon was the administrator of the Small Business Administration under the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. She resigned to chair the America First Action PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC. McMahon was born October 4, 1948 in New Bern, North Carolina. She earned a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University in 1966. After graduation, McMahon worked as a paralegal at a corporate law firm. In 1980, McMahon and her husband co-founded Titan Sports, Inc. (now WWE, Inc.), and she served as president and later CEO until 2009. McMahon was […]
Anne M Mulcahy
Anne M Mulcahy


Anne M. Mulcahy is the former chairperson of the board and the former chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation, located in Stamford, Conn. She was named chief executive officer of Xerox on Aug. 1, 2001, and chairman on Jan. 1, 2002. She retired as CEO in 2009. Mulcahy was born October 21, 1952, in Rockville Centre, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English/journalism from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, in 1974. In addition to the Xerox board, she has been a member of the board of […]