THE WINNERS

Abbott

Abbott Park, Illinois

Chairman and CEO Miles D. White

Executive VP, HR Mary Moreland

The three-day Executive Compass program provides new senior leaders with a deep dive into the healthcare company’s strategy, with support from professors from Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. In 2018, 26 percent of participants were women.

AbbVie

North Chicago, Illinois

Chairman and CEO Richard Gonzalez

Executive VP, Chief HR Officer Tim Richmond

The pharmaceutical company launched the five-month Women’s Leadership Journey, providing skills and perspectives needed for senior roles. Participants meet with senior women leaders from across the enterprise to support relationship building. At the conclusion, they present leadership impact statements, establish a peer network, and prepare to mentor the next cohort.

Accenture

New York, New York

CEO Julie Sweet

Chief Leadership and HR Officer Ellyn Shook

The global professional-services company offers six formal sponsorship programs, including Insight, which links high-potential senior manager women with senior executives. It creates a unique connection to reflect on career journeys, and gives participants the knowledge and skills needed to move to managing director and beyond. More than 100 women participate each year.

Anthem Inc.

Indianapolis, Indiana

President and CEO Gail Boudreaux

Executive VP and Chief HR Officer Leah Stark

The May 2019 Women’s Leadership Forum, Bold New Anthem: Redefining What’s Possible, targeted the top 200 women leaders in the organization. Topics included career progression, mentoring and work-life balance. The session culminated with a call to action to identify ways to step beyond comfort zones for further development.

Bank of America

Charlotte, North Carolina

CEO Brian Moynihan

Chief HR Officer Sheri Bronstein

The 10-month Women’s Executive Development program leverages the faculty of Columbia Business School to support the career advancement of high-potential women. It includes assessments, in-person and virtual development sessions, executive sponsorship and local market engagement. Since 2010, more than 1,200 women have participated, and they were three-and-a-half times more likely than their peers to be promoted.

Baxter International Inc.

Deerfield, Illinois

Chairman and CEO José (Joe) E. Almeida

SVP, HR Jeanne Mason

To help ensure engagement with recently hired or promoted executive