Last year marked a wave of transformation and turnover in the C-suites of Fortune 500 companies. Fortune launched the Fortune 500 Power Moves series just before the start of 2025, and throughout the year tracked appointments, promotions, resignations, and retirements of Fortune 500 leaders.
After a break for the holidays, 2026 is in full swing, and so are announcements about executive shifts. But before we dive into this week’s Fortune 500 Power Moves, below are highlights and patterns we observed in 2025.
Fortune 500 Power Moves: 2025 in review
The rise of the bro-co-CEO…A handful of companies opted to put two men in charge instead of just one. Oracle (No. 87), Comcast (No. 35), and Spotify (No. 246 on the Fortune Europe 500) got in on the trend. Read more: The new bro-co‑CEO club—and why women are left out
…and a declining number of women at the topWith the departure of Priscilla Almodovar from Fannie Mae (No. 25) and Toni Townes-Whitley from Science Applications International (No. 496), the Fortune 500 lost two women of color CEOs in just one October week. That leaves just six CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who are women of color, and barring any yet-to-be-announced moves, 54 women CEOs by the end of Q1 2026. That’s one fewer than a peak in mid-2025 as political trends devaluing diversity blend with changes to succession plans and corporate structures.
