Apple’s Deirdre O’Brien, senior vice president of retail and people, and Lisa Jackson, vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, have made FORTUNE’s “Most Powerful Women” list for 2021.
Here’s what FORTUNE has to say about O’Brien (pictured above): As Apple’s top HR official as well as chief of its $74 billion or so retail business, O’Brien’s responsibilities touch 147,000 employees and millions of consumers. She helped formulate Apple’s return-to-work plans and is evolving its physical store strategy, including adding express counters where shoppers can pick up online orders and launching an in-store project to help mentor young creatives.
Here’s what FORTUNE has to say about O’Brien (pictured below): Apple pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030, which means reducing 75% of emissions generated from its products and supply chain within the next decade. While critics still contend Apple’s products directly result in environmental damage, under Jackson’s leadership the tech giant reported a 10% drop in its carbon footprint from 2019 to the end of 2020. Jackson took charge of a new $200 million Restore Fund in April, which aims to invest in forestry projects that remove at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, while earning a profit for investors. She also helped drive Apple’s ability to ship all newly released iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and MacBooks with 90% fiber packaging in fiscal year 2020 in an effort to close in on the company’s commitment to eliminate all plastics from product packaging by 2025. As part of Apple’s social impact initiatives, Jackson helped the company create the Atlanta-based Propel Center, a first-of-its-kind physical and virtual campus that will serve as a hub for historically Black colleges and universities.
FORTUNE has used the same four criteria to rank the Most Powerful Women list since its advent in 1998: the size and importance of each woman’s business in the global economy; the health and direction of the business; the arc of her career; and her social and cultural influence. Now, to account for this moment of crisis and uncertainty, as well as positive change, the list also considers how the executives wield their power, and whether they are using their influence to shape their companies and the wider world for the better.
