Beth Ford becomes first out lesbian woman to run Fortune 500 company
Land O'Lakes' newly appointed CEO said she made a decision long ago to "live an authentic life"
For the first time in history, a Fortune 500 company is being ran by an openly gay woman.
The almost century-old butter and agriculture company Land O’Lakes has appointed Beth Ford as its new president and CEO. Ford comes to the company after an extensive career that includes executive and management roles at Mobil, PepsiCo, Scholastic and a number of other companies.
Ford was promoted within Land O’Lakes from COO of Land O’Lakes Businesses, and while she said her sexuality — and the history-making nature of her appointment — played no part in the board’s decision, she acknowledged that “it’s not nothing.”
“I made a decision long ago to live an authentic life and if my being named CEO helps others do the same, that’s a wonderful moment,” Ford told CNN.
Noting that she was “extremely grateful to work at a company that values family, including my own,” Ford said the Land O’Lakes board “chose the person they felt best met the criteria to drive success in the business. I realize this is an important milestone for many people and I am pleased to share it.”
Ford is now only the third openly gay person to lead a Fortune 500 company, joining Apple CEO Tim Cook and Dow Chemical Company’s James Fitterling.
Ford’s appointment also makes Land O’Lakes one of just a worryingly small number of Fortune 500 companies that are led by women. The 2017 Fortune 500 ranking listed just 24 women CEOs — or less than 5% of companies in the rankings.
However, despite working in a traditionally male-dominated field like agriculture, Ford told the Star Tribune that she has encountered few gender-related challenges in her work.
“There’s a perception that some of these industries, they’re only male-dominated and they’re not welcoming necessarily, and I think in the end what they’re expecting is performance, and am I aligned with them from a strategic perspective, and can I drive the business,” Ford said. “That would be whether I’m a man or a woman.”
HRC applauded Ford for both her achievements and for being a role model for LGBTQ people.
“Her authentic leadership as an out lesbian is well-known in the LGBT corporate community, and the fact that she is assuming this role as an out lesbian sends an especially powerful message,” Deena Fidas, director of workplace equality at HRC, told CNN. “This is not a story of someone getting into the higher echelons of leadership and then coming out, this is someone walking into this role with her full self.”
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