CNBC is now accepting nominations for our second annual Changemakers list.
The list recognizes women who are transforming business and philanthropy, female leaders who have made a significant achievement in 2024. The goal of our list is to highlight trailblazing women who have defied the odds: approximately 10% of CEOs of the Fortune 500 are women, and female founders attract less than 2% of venture capital dollars. Changemakers, like the 50 women featured on CNBC Inaugural List revealed last February, are taking innovative approaches to solving old business problems and identifying new business opportunities.
Women who lead businesses and organizations (including philanthropies) with at least $25 million in annual revenue in at least one of the last three years, or an enterprise value of $100 million for private companies and $250 million for public companies can submit an application.
The deadline for submissions is Monday, November 11 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
The list will be announced in February 2025 and our second annual Changemakers Summit will take place in the spring.
Beyond that, we have expanded our advisory board of experienced leaders from business and philanthropy to help us determine the weight of the criteria used to select the women recognized and help us identify an inclusive group of women.
Join the CNBC Changemakers Advisory Council is a member of our inaugural list: Dina Powell McCormickVice President and President of Global Client Services and Partner at BDT-MSD, and former Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor for Strategy to former President Donald Trump. She joins me, along with the other members of last year’s advisory board:
- Marcela Miguel Berlandfounder and president of Latin Insights
- Tory Burch, Tory Burch LLC, executive chairman and chief creative officer; Founder of the Tory Burch Foundation
- Emma CarrascoSenior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, NBCUniversal News Group
- Srikant Datardean of Harvard Business School
- Karen FinermanCEO and co-founder of Metropolitan Capital Advisors and CNBC contributor
- Ken Frazier, President of General Catalyst Health Insurance Initiatives; former chairman and CEO of Merck
- Desiree Gruber, Full Image Founder and CEO
- Oscar Munozformer chairman and CEO of United Airlines and CNBC contributor
- Laurene Powell JobsFounder and President of Emerson Collective
- Merline Saintilindependent lead director of Rocket Lab; Co-founder of Black Women on Boards
- Sheryl SandbergFounder of LeanIn.org and OptionB.org
- Dr. Stacy Smithfounder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative
This year’s call for applications begins as, by some indicators, women leaders have made significant progress.
Women’s representation on S&P 500 boards hit an all-time high this year, according to a report released last week by executive search firm Spencer Stuart. Today, 34% of board seats are held by women, an increase of 15 percentage points over the past decade. The company also tracked an increase in the number of female CEOs of S&P 500 companies – there are 43, up from 39 in 2023. But the pipeline for increasing the number of female CEOs is “fragile”, according to Sheryl Sandberg. The last Women in the Workplace Report from LeanIn and McKinsey found that, based on the current rate of change, it will take 22 years for white women and 48 years for women of color to reach parity in the workforce.
It is this fragile nature of progress that underscores the importance of the Changemakers mission to spotlight a new wave of executives who transcend gender barriers and serve as role models for all.
Submit an application for the Changemakers 2025 list.
