Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women: Angela Ahrendts #13, Laurene Powell Jobs #14

“Last year was a tough one for women. It seemed like the we were on the verge of electing a woman as the most powerful person on the planet. Of course that’s not the way it worked out,” Caroline Howard writes for Forbes. “Hillary Clinton’s stunning loss in the 2016 U.S. presidential election left many women feeling untethered (and pushed Clinton down 63 spots on our list from No.2 in 2016 to 65 this year).”

“So who runs the world in 2017? German Chancellor Angela Merkel retains the top spot on this year’s class of female leaders — for the seventh consecutive year and 12 times in total,” Howard writes. “She’s followed by an unexpected newcomer, U.K. Prime Theresa May (No. 2), who is leading her country through Brexit, a historic, complex and transformative time for the country and the European Union. May is followed by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who, along with her husband Bill, has distributed more than $40 billion in grants to date and supports organizations in over 100 countries. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (No. 4) and GM CEO Mary Barra (No. 5) round out the top five.”

“In the No. 19 spot, Ivanka Trump is the second highest ranked newcomer. Her step-mother Melania has mostly abdicated the first-lady spotlight (and doesn’t appear on this year’s list) but Ivanka has become a key player in the Donald Trump White House,” Howard writes. “And while her father might not always heed her advice, she is targeting policy areas such as paid family leave, promotion of women in science and female entrepreneurship.”

“This year’s list features 48 women from the U.S. and several newcomers from other nations,” Howard writes. “Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid joins the list in the No. 78 spot. With only 1.2 million people, her country may be tiny but it’s leading a digital revolution where robots make regular deliveries and people can vote for elected officials online.”

Forbes’ Top 20 Most Powerful Women:

#1. Angela Merkel, 63, Germany, Politics
#2. Theresa May, 61, United Kingdom, Politics
#3. Melinda Gates, 53, United States, Philanthropy/NGO
#4. Sheryl Sandberg, 48, United States, Technology
#5. Mary Barra, 55, United States, Automotive
#6. Susan Wojcicki, 49, United States, Technology
#7. Abigail Johnson, 55, United States, Finance and Investments
#8. Christine Lagarde, 61, France, Economy
#9. Ana Patricia Botín, 57, Spain, Finance and Investments
#10. Ginni Rometty, 60, United States, Technology
#11. Indra Nooyi, 62, United States, Diversified
#12. Meg Whitman, 61, United States, Technology

#13. Angela Ahrendts, 57, United States, Technology: SVP, Retail, Apple. The Apple SVP, who is in charge of online retail and Apple’s 497 stores worldwide, is planning to reimagine the retail experience once again. With iPhone sales falling year over year, Ahrendts has a plan to get consumers back into the Apple stores by rebranding them as “town squares,” in other words, places to gather. She also launched “Today At Apple,” in-store educational opportunities that cover everything from the basics of using an iPad to editing or coding. She’s also set her sights on expanding Apple’s presence in China, opening 41 stores in three years. Apple’s top-paid executive ($22.9 million in 2016) oversees 50% of the company’s workforce across retail, real estate, e-commerce, and operations. Ahrendts joined Apple from Burberry in 2014 and is the senior leadership team’s only woman. Apple overall is still 68% male.

#14. Laurene Powell Jobs, 53, United States, Philanthropy/NGO: President, Emerson Collective.

• Laurene Powell Jobs is the widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.
• She founded and chairs the Emerson Collective, an organization that uses entrepreneurship to advance social reform and to assist needy students.
• She also cofounded College Track, a nonprofit program that helps disadvantaged students prepare for and graduate from college.
• In July 2017, she bought a majority stake in The Atlantic magazine and website for an undisclosed price.
• In 2015, Powell Jobs made a $50 million commitment to “XQ: The Super School Project,” a nationwide competition to redevelop the high school curriculum

#15. Tsai Ing-wen, 61, Taiwan, Politics
#16. Michelle Bachelet, 66, Chile, Politics
#17. Federica Mogherini, 44, Italy, Politics
#18. Safra Catz, 55, United States, Technology
#19. Ivanka Trump, 36, United States, Politics
#20. Adena Friedman, 48, United States, Finance and Investments

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Congrats to both Angela Ahrendts and Laurene Powell Jobs!