FORTUNE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 75Nike has continued jog-
ging along through the
pandemic, with revenue
up 19% in its most recent
fiscal year, as it bol-
stered its own network
of stores, delivered top-
of-the-line e-commerce,
and pleased customers
with its popular apps.
O’Neill is pushing the
brand forward on sus-
tainability, challenging
the company to recycle,
refurbish, or donate
used or defective prod-
ucts and using wind to
power its Paris flagship.Heidi O’Neill
President of Consumer
and Marketplace, 56,
Nike45Chow is the first woman
of color to serve as a
CEO at AT&T, overseeing
its $35 billion unit that
works with businesses.
This year her division
committed to helping
Microsoft, Texas A&M,
and other organizations
cut one gigaton of
greenhouse emissions
by 2035. AT&T is also ad-
dressing the digital di-
vide, partnering with
OneWeb to launch satel-
lites to make its business
fiber network available
to more rural workers.Anne Chow
CEO, AT&T Business,
55, AT&T4444NEW43
Nasdaq has long had influence far beyond its size; the
company’s technology powers 130 global markets, and
revenue was up 32% to $5.6 billion in 2020. But in 2021, the
stock exchange became an even more powerful player when
it won Securities and Exchange Commission approval for a
groundbreaking board diversity proposal. Championed by
Friedman, a career Nasdaq exec who became CEO in 2017,
the new rules requiring gender and racial diversity board
diversity at listed companies (with some allowances) have
the potential to reshape the last all-male, all-white board
holdouts of corporate America and beyond.Adena
Friedman
President and CEO, 52,
NasdaqNEWCOURTESY OF AT&T; COURTESY OF NIKE