Who’s next? Watch these LGBTQ+ leaders go all the way to the top
It’s almost laughable to call these LGBTQ+ executives “rising stars.” All of them have long held positions of power within their industries. These trailblazers may not have made the Fortune 500 list yet — but keep an eye out as they continue to run successful corporations. Where will they take their companies next?
Inga Beale – Former CEO, Lloyd’s of London
Inga Beale is an influential LGBTQ+ businesswoman. In 2008, she came out as bisexual in a job interview. Beale said, “I decided to come out during the interview process so that I wasn’t going into it with any secrets. I just brought it up with the group CEO and he was fine. You think, why did it take so long? That’s why I encourage everyone to do it.”
After coming out, Beale continued to break barriers. She is one of the few —possibly the only — openly bisexual business leaders at her level. In 2014 she became the first woman CEO in Lloyd’s of London’s 327-year history. Then in 2015 she topped the OUTstanding & Financial Times Leading LGBT executive power list after being nominated by her peers and colleagues. And in 2017, the Queen named her Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her service to the economy and activism supporting women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Beale is a champion of inclusion. While at Lloyd’s, she launched Pride@Lloyd’s, an internal LGBTQ+ employee resource group. She also founded Dive In, “a global movement in the insurance sector to support the development of inclusive workplace cultures.” Beale recently stepped down as CEO of Lloyd’s. But she’s ready for the next big challenge — perhaps at the helm of a Fortune 500 Company?
R. Martin Chavez – Vice Chairman and Co-Head of the Securities Division, Goldman Sachs
R. Martin Chavez is a top-level executive who has been openly gay his entire career. Chavez came out in 1990, the day after defending his doctoral dissertation. When first interviewing at Goldman, his future boss didn’t blink an eye when Chavez mentioned he was gay.
Chavez created the company’s LGBT Network. “As one of two openly-gay partners in the firm, leadership of the LGBT Network happened naturally,” he said. Chavez also advocated that the company expand benefits to gay partners — even before the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. Chavez worked closely with CEO Lloyd Blankfein to focus on LGBT issues. With Chavez’s guidance, Blankfein became one of the first US corporate leaders to support same-sex marriage.
Martine Rothblatt – Founder and CEO, United Therapeutics
Martine Rothblatt created SiriusXM Satellite Radio. However, that achievement is just one of her countless successful ventures. Rothblatt left Sirius in 1993. She publicly came out as a trans woman in 1994. And in 1996, she founded biotech giant United Therapeutics. A passionate activist for trans rights, Rothblatt recently told The Advocate, “We should never rest, until everybody can be true to their soul no matter what gender that might be.”
Last year, Rothblatt made $38 million — making her the highest-earning CEO in the biopharmaceutical industry. It also made her the highest-paid female CEO, as well as the highest-paid transgender person in the country. In 2017, Forbes Magazine named Rothblatt one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds of the past 100 years. Ray Kurzweil, Director of Engineering at Google, notes, “She has to my knowledge a perfect track record in making [her] visions real.”
Rothblatt shows no sign of slowing down her continuously ground-breaking career. Could a Fortune 500 company be next?
Jason Grenfell-Gardner – President and CEO, Teligent
Jason Grenfell-Gardner is no stranger to the role of LGBTQ+ pioneer in the corporate world. As chief executive at IGI Laboratories, Grenfell-Gardner was the very first (and until 2014, the only!) openly-gay CEO of a publicly traded American corporation.
Grenfell-Gardner came out while studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and has been openly gay throughout his career. According to the New York Times, during his job interview for chief executive at IGI, a board member asked what Grenfell-Gardner’s wife would think about the demands of the job. “I don’t have a wife,” he said. “I have a husband. And he wouldn’t mind.”
While Grenfell-Gardner doesn’t consider being openly gay groundbreaking, Todd Sears begs to differ: “It’s incredibly important for people to see that there are gay CEOs.”
Now President and CEO of Teligent, Grenfell-Gardner ensures that his company welcomes the LGBTQ+ community by establishing corporate nondiscrimination policies and health and family benefits.