Fortune 500 list now features openly lesbian CEO for the first time
Beth Ford was named CEO of Land O’ Lakes last week (Image courtesy of Land O’Lakes)
A Fortune 500 company has named an openlyĀ gay woman to the role of president and CEO.
Effective August 1, Beth Ford will take the reins ofĀ food and agricultural cooperative Land OāLakes, Inc., ranked 216Ā in the annual ranking of the largest companies in the US compiled by the American publicationĀ Fortune.
She joined the company in 2011 and has more than 20 yearsā experience specifically in the areas of technology and research and development.Ā The company statement announcing her appointment on Thursday made no reference to her appointment breaking new ground for the LGBT+ business community, although it stated that the new CEO is married to a woman: “Ford and her spouse, Jill Schurtz, have three teenage children and live in Minneapolis.”
Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc., Laura Lang speaks during a Fortune 500 eventĀ on May 7, 2012 in New York City (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Time)
Ford joins a small club of openly gay business leadersĀ running a Fortune 500 company. “ByĀ Fortuneās count, Ford will be the third openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the first woman,” the publication wroteāApple’s Tim Cook and the Dow Chemical Company’s Jim Fitterling being the other two.
“Ford said it didnāt even come up in her discussions with the board. But she conceded that ‘itās not nothing,'”Ā Fortune’s article read.
“If it gives someone encouragement and belief that they can be their authentic self and live their life and things are possible, than thatās a terrific moment,ā Ford told the publication, adding that she remembers what it was like not to be out inĀ her workplace when she was in her 20s.
āI think Iāve been fortunate since my mid-30s of being just who I am,āĀ FordĀ said, adding: “Work is hard enough, and then when you have to feel as though you canāt be who are, thatās got to be incredibly difficult.ā
Apple’s Tim Cook and the Dow Chemical Company’s Jim Fitterling are the only other two openly gay business leaders running a Fortune 500 company (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
In a separateĀ statement to CNN, Ford said:Ā “I am extraordinarily grateful to work at a company that values family, including my own.”
According to a study by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) foundation, nearly half (46 percent) of LGBT+ employees in the US hide their sexuality at their place of employment.
The LGBT+ rights group congratulated Ford on her appointment. “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,” saysĀ Deena Fidas, HRC director of workplace equality, toldĀ 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,” Fidas added.
