The Fortune 500 adds a second Black woman CEO in SAIC’s Toni Townes-Whitley
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- Dynamic duo. This week, Toni Townes-Whitley became the CEO of Science Applications International Corp., a Virginia-based Fortune 500 technology company that supports government agencies, intelligence services, and the Department of Defense.
With her appointment, Townes-Whitley becomes one of two Black women currently serving as Fortune 500 CEOs. The timing is notable; for all of September, TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett stood alone as the only Black female CEO in the Fortune 500 following the exit of Walgreens chief Roz Brewer. With Townes-Whitley's hire at SAIC, Duckett is no longer an "only" among Fortune 500 chiefs and the smaller group of 52 female CEOs.
Not only that, but SAIC achieved a rare female CEO-to-female CEO handoff, with Townes-Whitley taking over from former SAIC chief Nazzic Keene. Townes-Whitley's hire was announced in May and she became "CEO-elect" in June.
Townes-Whitley spoke to Stephanie Mehta at Fast Company about the significance of her new role.
"I was with the other female in our duo just a few days ago," she said of Duckett, "And we were talking about the importance of how we show up and that we have a greater pipeline into these roles."
"This is an opportunity for me not only as a female but as an African American female," she added. "We’ve never had an African American female as a CEO in national security. And yet, if you look at our security forces, they’re quite diverse. And so, we’ve got to ask ourselves, both by sector and by size of company, why are we not building that pipeline?"
Before joining SAIC, Townes-Whitley was Microsoft's president of U.S. regulated industries, with an $11 billion P&L.
SAIC is smaller, with $7.7 billion in annual revenue and a No. 479 ranking on the Fortune 500. Townes-Whitley believes SAIC is undervalued; she aims to better articulate its differentiated value proposition and clarify its brand.
She'll be doing that with more attention than a public sector-focused tech business usually garners.
"People like myself and others—we have to show up," she says of her visibility. "We have to demonstrate that we can make this happen. We can grow businesses, we understand top line, bottom line, and all of the shareholder pressures, and we can deliver. And I think the more that occurs, you’re going to start to see some changes."
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
