Lady Scouts rely 10 present and former Fortune 500 CEOs as alums

Eight girls leaders of Fortune 500 firms have been as soon as Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, or extra, in line with an evaluation by Fortune employees. 

“It’s no surprise that so many women in leadership roles were at one time a Girl Scout,” the Lady Scouts of the USA’s CEO, Bonnie Barczykowski, instructed Fortune when requested in regards to the outcomes. 

Present Fortune 500 CEOs who’re Lady Scouts alumnae embrace Common Motors’ Mary Barra, Centene’s Sarah London, Oracle’s Safra Catz, Common Dynamics’ Phebe Novakovic, Bathtub & Physique Works’ Gina Boswell, Edward Jones Investments’ Penny Pennington, and Graybar Electrical’s Kathleen Mazzarella.

Well-known for his or her seasonal collection of delectable desserts together with Skinny Mints, Trefoils, Tagalongs, and Caramel deLites, the Lady Scouts really function the biggest girl-led entrepreneurial program on the planet, promoting over 200 million containers yearly and producing about $1 billion, in line with Barczykowski.   

“It is a period of time in which they engage into the financial education piece and learn how to promote their cookie business as young entrepreneurs,” Barczykowski mentioned.

Many of those CEOs instructed Fortune that the expertise actually mattered for his or her careers.

“Being a Girl Scout gave me an opportunity to explore new ideas and step outside of my comfort zone, which helped me gain confidence and a belief in my abilities,” Mazzarella, who’s helmed Graybar Electrical since 2012, instructed Fortune in an emailed assertion. “The timeless life lessons I learned as a Girl Scout influenced me throughout my career and continue to shape the way I lead today.”

Pennington, who joined Edward Jones in 2000 earlier than turning into managing accomplice in 2019, spent a number of years as a Lady Scout within the early Nineteen Seventies.

“Brownies and Girls Scouts left a lasting impression on me—my confidence in learning new things, the fun of working as a troop, and the commitment of adults who were guiding us,” Pennington mentioned in an emailed assertion. “Those are values I still talk about to this day and carry forward in life, decades later.” 

The list additionally extends to former members of Fortune 500 C-suites, like former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, former Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, and former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg. Different enterprise leaders embrace former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, former JCPenny CEO Jill Soltau, and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

The 2023 Fortune 500 rating marked a brand new milestone for feminine leaders, with greater than 10% of America’s largest firms ranked by income being run by girls for the primary time. 

The final has shifted previously yr as a result of current exits together with Roz Brewer from Walgreens Boots Alliance, Elizabeth Burr from Rite Aid, Julie Sloat from American Electric Power, and Barbara Smith from Commercial Metals. Nonetheless, newcomers within the type of MDU Sources’ Nicole Kivisto, Levi Strauss & Co.’s Michelle Gass, and Chemours’ Denise Dignam have ensured that 52 firms out of the five hundred nonetheless stay led by girls. (And sure, eight out of 52 members coming from the ranks of the Lady Scouts is the next share than feminine CEOs on the Fortune 500, 15.3% to 10.4%.)

The 2024 Fortune 500 rating will debut in June. Final yr, the highest 10 firms alone posted $3.7 trillion in revenue, with the overall listing representing two-thirds of the U.S. GDP.

On my honor

One in each three girls in the USA was at one time a Lady Scout, in line with Barczykowski, however the chief government herself was not one among them.  

“There’s always a mic drop when I share that I was never in Girl Scouting,” Barczykowski mentioned. 

Based in 1912 with a mission of instructing younger women beneficial abilities like tenting, group service, and first help, the Lady Scouts of the USA has since grown to over a million energetic members and 50 million alumnae. 

“When I meet women from around the nation, and I ask them about their Girl Scout experience, whether they were in Girl Scouts one year, three years, 10 years, or 13, they all have memories and experiences that they tie back to that had influenced them in their lives,” Barczykowski mentioned. 

The group’s affect stretches throughout the nation with 111 councils, and even outer house. The primary American girl to stroll in house, Kathryn Sullivan, said she prioritized “filling up her sash” with badges as a younger troop member. 

The group’s attain additionally extends to politics; the halls of Capitol Hill and the White Home are stuffed with former members. In accordance with the Lady Scouts, 56% of girls within the 117th Congress (2021-2022) have been identified to be alums. Plus, each feminine secretary of state in U.S. historical past was a Lady Scout or Lady Information alum, together with Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton.

“A majority of the women astronauts were at one time Girl Scouts, a majority of our folks who are in the Senate and the House were at one time Girl Scouts,” Barczykowski mentioned. 

Hollywood additionally boasts a roster of Lady Scout stars, together with Carrie Fisher, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Reese Witherspoon. Music celebrity Taylor Swift served as a Lady Scout in her native Pennsylvania, and notably donated free tickets to her 2018 Fame tour to troops in New Jersey and Connecticut. Much more, the Lady Scouts can rely on precise royalty as former members:s Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. 

“When I think of some of the leaders that lead different organizations, both nonprofits and corporations and foundations, they were at one time Girl Scouts,” Barczykowski mentioned. “Again, no surprise when you hear about the skills that they built from when they were young that they’ve carried into these amazing careers.”

Badges and enterprise

Fortune 500 and International 500 firms have partnered with GSUSA to fund new packages and curriculum for younger women–full with themed badges to fill their sashes. 

Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar instructed Fortune she was a “big fan of badges” as a Lady Scout, and he or she nonetheless remembers her first tenting journey together with her troop.

“Badges made me curious to try out and learn new things, gave me the confidence that I can build new skills and gain knowledge, and taught me to hold myself accountable,” Almodovar mentioned in an emailed assertion. “I also learned about teamwork and working alongside other girls.”

Priscilla Almodovar

GM CEO Mary Barra, a former Brownie, instructed Fortune that being a Lady Scout “exposes girls and young women to new experiences and opportunities they may have never imagined,” and helped introduce new STEM-themed badges. 

In 2020, her firm announced a $1 million grant to assist the group develop STEM programming and educate members in regards to the designing, engineering, and manufacturing of autos.

“We are proud of our work with Girl Scouts of the USA to help launch a series of STEM and Automotive badges,” GM CEO Barra mentioned in an emailed assertion. “We need more women in STEM fields and Girl Scouts is an incredible organization inspiring the innovators of the future.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by fellow Fortune 500 boss Gina Boswell, CEO of Bathtub & Physique Works, whose firm supplied some seed funding for a 220-acre immersive STEM and Leadership Campus in Galloway, Ohio. 

Boswell instructed Fortune she was “a proud Girl Scout from the time I was six years old straight through my freshman year of high school.”

“One of the biggest takeaways from my Girl Scouts experience was the importance of community, service to others and creating a sense of belonging,” Boswell mentioned in an emailed assertion. “When you become a Girl Scout, you realize for the first time that there’s more to life than just your individual self – you realize that you’re part of a larger collective.” 

But it surely additionally looks like all these cookie gross sales actually taught a enterprise lesson, alongside the best way.