Good morning, it’s Fortune editorial director Ellie Austin here, filling in for Emma who is on vacation.
We rely heavily on data when deciding who ranks where on the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women in Business list. This involves evaluating executives based on the size and health of their businesses or P&Ls, measured by both 12-month and three-year financial results. However, other, less tangible criteria are also taken into account, such as the executive’s willingness to innovate, her efforts to make business better, and the influence that she wields beyond her company.
One woman who scores highly in this latter category is Dina Powell McCormick, who is No. 58 on this year’s list. In January, she was appointed president and vice chairman of Meta, after a year on the company’s board. Her broad remit includes co-leading the division that manages Meta’s multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure buildout. Drawing on her years at the highest echelons of Washington and Wall Street (Powell McCormick has held multiple unelected political positions, including time as deputy national security advisor during President Trump’s first term, as well as 16 years at Goldman Sachs), she is tasked with securing large-scale investors across the globe to help fund Meta’s vast AI ambitions. This is a hugely important role, both for Meta and the AI revolution more generally. And yet, I’d argue that Powell McCormick’s true power transcends her job title.
