The second annual CNBC Changemakers list of women who are transforming business and philanthropy showcases biotech breakthroughs, AI advances, women’s health, and both consumer and social innovations, with a wide-ranging list of leaders, each of whom has accomplished a meaningful achievement in 2024, specifically.
From billion-dollar startups to multinationals valued in the hundreds of billions, and in sectors from media and entertainment to sports, financial services, food and restaurants, defense, health care, and real estate, these women are breaking down barriers and inspiring their teams, their customers and the world. With guidance from the Changemakers Advisory Board, CNBC evaluated the applicants’ impact through both quantitative and qualitative lenses.
In the Fortune 500, women still face an uphill battle, with the 11% of CEOs who are female a record level. Meanwhile, venture capital funding to female-founded companies declined to 2% last year. The women who succeed, despite those odds, are by definition, exceptional, and their stories reveal grit, perseverance, and creativity.
These are the 2025 CNBC Changemakers
| Name | Company | Title |
| Toyin Ajayi | Cityblock Health | Co-founder & CEO |
| Bianca Anghelina | Aily Labs | Founder & CEO |
| Bela Bajaria | Netflix | Chief Content Officer |
| Christine Barone | Dutch Bros | President & CEO |
| Maria Black | ADP | President & CEO |
| Nancy Brown | American Heart Association | CEO |
| Napheesa Collier | Unrivaled | Co-founder |
| Marisa Drew | Standard Chartered | Chief Sustainability Officer |
| Lisa Earnhardt | Abbott | Executive Vice President & Group President, Medical Devices |
| Stephanie Ferris | FIS | President & CEO |
| Ashley Flowers | Audiochuck | Founder & CEO |
| Mayor Kate Gallego | City of Phoenix | Mayor of Phoenix |
| Jennifer Garner | Once Upon a Farm | Co-founder & Chief Brand Officer |
| Kourtney Gibson | TIAA | CEO, TIAA Retirement Solutions |
| Emma Grede | The Fifteen Percent Pledge, Good American, Off Season, Skims, Safely | Serial Entrepreneur & Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge |
| Lan Guan | Accenture | Chief AI Officer |
| Paris Hilton | 11:11 Media | Founder & CEO |
| Chelsea Hirschhorn | Frida | Founder & CEO |
| Sarah Hirshland | United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee | CEO |
| Diane Hoskins | Gensler | Global Co-Chair |
| Lila Ibrahim | Google DeepMind | COO |
| Jenny Just | Peak6 | Co-founder |
| Kim A. Keck | Blue Cross Blue Shield Association | President & CEO |
| Dr. Reshma Kewalramani | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | President & CEO |
| Wendy Kopp | Teach For All | Co-founder & CEO |
| Donna Langley | NBCUniversal | Chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios |
| Lori Lyons-Williams | Abdera Therapeutics | President & CEO |
| Elizabeth Matthews | American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) | CEO |
| Merav Mor | Lumen | Co-founder & Inventor |
| Michal Mor | Lumen | Co-founder & Inventor |
| Wawira Njiru | Food4Education | Founder & CEO |
| Sheryl Palmer | Taylor Morrison | Chairman & CEO |
| Arati Prabhakar | United States | Former Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy |
| Caryn Seidman Becker | CLEAR | Chair & CEO |
| Bijal Shah | Guild | CEO |
| Breanna Stewart | Unrivaled | Co-founder |
| Joanna Strober | Midi Health | CEO |
| Katherine Stueland | GeneDx | President & CEO |
| Anjali Sud | Tubi | CEO |
| Cassandra Morales Thurswell | Kitsch | Founder & CEO |
| Tricia Tolivar | Cava | CFO |
| Dara Treseder | Autodesk | CMO |
| Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson | Seraphina Therapeutics | Co-founder & CEO |
| Carla Vernón | The Honest Company | Board Director & CEO |
| Kathy Warden | Northrop Grumman | Chair, President & CEO |
| Joey Wat | Yum China | CEO |
| Naomi Watts | Stripes Beauty | Founder & Chief Creative Officer |
| Jen Wong | COO | |
| Denise Woodard | Partake Foods | Founder & CEO |
| Sharon Yeshaya | Morgan Stanley | CFO |
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