“Toni Townes-Whitley today officially becomes CEO of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), a technology integrator based in Reston, Virginia. Townes-Whitley’s appointment is notable for a number of reasons: She is one of two Black women currently running Fortune 500 companies (TIAA’s Thasunda Brown Duckett is the other; Rosalind Brewer left the top job at Walgreens Boots Alliance earlier this year). Townes-Whitley succeeds Nazzic S. Keene, a rare example of a woman CEO handing off to another woman at a large publicly-held company.
Townes-Whitley is well-positioned to lead SAIC, which provides tech and engineering services primarily to the U.S. government. Her father is a retired 3-star Army general, and for years, she served as president of U.S. regulated industries for Microsoft. She spoke with me exclusively ahead of officially taking the CEO reins about her historic ascent, lessons learned from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and her advice for corporate America on diversifying its CEO ranks…”
Source: An exclusive conversation with Toni Townes-Whitley, one of only two Black women running a Fortune 500 company. By Stephanie Meta, October 2, 2023. Fast Company.
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