Irene B. Rosenfeld
Company: Kraft
Position: CEO & chair
Global 500 Rank: 167
Years ago, when Irene Rosenfeld was getting ready to graduate from Cornell with a degree in psychology, it would have seemed wild to think that she would come to spend 29 years of her life in the food and beverage industry.
But after earning a Ph.D. in marketing and statistics and an MBA, Rosenfeld found herself at General Mills, which eventually became a part of Kraft in 1981.
She was a rising star at Kraft, and ultimately decided to leave the company in 2004 to become the CEO and chair of Frito-Lay.
In 2006, she returned to Kraft as their CEO and chair. She led the company in acquiring British candy giant Cadbury in 2010, and the company generated $48 billion in revenues that same year.
Rosenfeld had two children, Allison and Carol, with her late husband, Phillip. She is now remarried to investment banker Richard Illgen.