20
21
The
World’s 50
Greatest
Leaders
The List19
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FORTUNE.COM // MAY.1.19
About 24% of the
U.S. workforce is
55 or above—and
older workers face
a disproportionate
risk of being laid off.
This spring, Jenkins
rallied bipartisan
support behind a long-
dormant bill that would
strengthen federal age
discrimination laws.
She’s also a dogged
critic of prescription
drug costs—a burden
to which older workers
and retirees alike are
keenly vulnerable.Baker’s approval rat-
ings routinely land near
70%, a remarkable feat
for a Republican lead-
ing a famously liberal
state. He’s earned that
favor with a quiet bi-
partisanship that feels
almost foreign these
days. A data-driven
fixer—he previously
led the turnaround of a
health insurer—Baker
has been effective in
addressing the state’s
opioid woes and issues
with social services;
he also signed a green
energy bill last year.A COMMON THEME LINKS CODE2040, a nonprofit that nurtures black and
Latinx tech talent, and the eponymous beauty company that Walker
launched in 2013. Both are based on the premise that people of color will
be the majority in the U.S. in about 20 years (the “2040” in Code2040)
and that businesses will miss huge opportunities if they fail to connect
with that majority. Walker, a Stanford B-school grad whose career in-
cludes stints on Wall Street and at Twitter, has made that case resonate
in very disparate industries. Code2040 now places more than 100 “fel-
lows” each year at Silicon Valley giants like LinkedIn and Airbnb. And in
retail, Walker & Co. broke through by persuading Target and Sephora to
carry its shaving products and shampoos and display them prominently,
rather than in an “ethnic beauty” niche. In December, Procter & Gamble
bought the company in another affirmation of Walker’s vision.
COFOUNDER, CODE2040; CEO, WALKER & CO. BRANDS
jo ann jenkins
CEO, AARPcharlie baker
Governor, Massachusetts