The business world is a male-dominated one. Just 6.4 percent of CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies are held by women.
Much still needs to be done to change the gender imbalance at the top of the business ladder. However, some women have managed to beat the odds.
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Every year since 1998, business magazine Fortune has published a list of Most Powerful Women list to highlight the work that they’re doing.
This year’s list features the likes of Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki.
This month, business leaders will come together at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit to celebrate and discuss the women that are breaking the norm and how they got to where they are.
The event is made up of a number of interviews, panels, discussions and networking events. Fortune has promised to provide attendees with inspiration and advice from some of the world’s most powerful women.
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By GlobalDataMust-see speakers at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit
Past summits have welcomed speakers such as Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates and former Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer.
This year’s summit will offer another line-up of successful names. The likes of Hershey CEO Michele Buck, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman and Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson will be speaking at the event.
Other notable speakers include: Shelley Broader (Chico’s), Wendy Clark (DDB North America), Mary Dillon (Ulta Beauty), Cathy Engelbert (Deloitte), Margo Georgiadis (Mattel), Shira Goodman (Staples), Denise Morrison (Campbell Soup) and Geisha Williams (PG&E).
However, there are three that stand out from the current list of confirmed speakers. If you’re attending the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, these are the speakers that we would recommend catching:
Ariana Huffington – Thrive Global
Having co-founded The Huffington Post in 2005, Huffington quickly became one of the most powerful people in new media.
Having earned a vast fortune by selling her publication to AOL in a $315m deal, Huffington is focusing on her next big idea, Thrive Global, a company attempting to rebalance work and life.
Huffington will be taking part in a one-on-one interview on “thrive-ing and driving change” with Fortune’s Leigh Gallagher. The talk will begin at 2:35pm London time on 10 October.
Indra Nooyi – PepsiCo
Voted the second most powerful woman in this year’s list, Nooyi is currently one of the highest paid women in business.
As the CEO of soft drinks giants Pepsi, Nooyi will undoubtedly provide a valuable insight into the life of a woman at the top of one of the world’s biggest companies that few others can.
Nooyi will be taking part in a one-on-one interview on “leading through disruption” with Fortune’s Pattie Sellers. The talk will begin at 2:15pm London time on 10 October.
Mary Barra – General Motors
As CEO of General Motors, Barra has been steering GM into an electric, driverless and car-sharing future since she took over in 2014. She has helped to grow the company’s stock price by 25 percent this year alone.
Deservedly, Barra has been picked as the Most Powerful Woman for three consecutive years. She will undoubtedly be the main attraction at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.
Barra will be taking part in a one-on-one interview on “driving ahead” with Fortune’s Michal Lev-Ram. The talk will begin at 5pm London time on 10 October.
Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit event details
The summit will be taking place in Washington D.C. between Monday, 9 October and Wednesday, 11 October.
Unfortunately, spaces have already filled up. You could still get in by putting your name on the waiting list. However, it seems unlikely that places will become available with just days to go.
Fortunately, Fortune will be live-streaming the event online. They have yet to confirm the streaming schedule for Monday. However, you will be able to watch all of the big speakers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
