Brasília – The chairwoman of Petrobras, Graça Foster, has been listed by the United States’ business magazine Fortune as the world’s fourth most powerful executive. The ranking comprises 50 women and is topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra. American women dominate the ranking of powerful, influential women, holding 30 of 50 positions, including the top three. Mary Barra is followed by the IBM and Pepsico CEOs Ginni Rommety and Indira Nooyi, respectively.
This is not Graça Foster’s first appearance in the publication’s rankings. She has topped the list of most powerful non-American executive, in 2012 and 2013. Last year, the Petrobras chairwoman joined the Forbes ranking of the world’s 20 most powerful women.
According to Fortune magazine, the list was created by editors based on criteria such as size, importance, health, and the future outlook of the businesses headed by the women, as well as their past careers.
On this first global edition of the ranking, the magazine emphasized the international relevance of the women listed, and their position within the international community. In past editions, the rankings were divided between American and non-American executives.
Graça Foster, aged 60, is a chemical engineer by trade, and the first woman ever to run Brazil’s oil company. She took charge of the state-owned company in February 2012. She was formerly the company’s Gas and Energy director, and the chairwoman of Petrobras Distribuidora. She has been with the company for 32 years.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
