Openly LGBTQ CEOs in Fortune 500 set to fall after two departures

Apple’s Tim Cook and Dow’s Jim Fitterling are set to leave their CEO roles this year, cutting the number of openly LGBTQ chief executives in the Fortune 500 to one, Fortune reported. The change matters because representation at the top of the largest U.S. companies remains limited, even as companies have spent years promoting broader leadership pipelines.

Fortune reported that Fitterling will step down in July and Cook in September. Both men identify as gay, and their departures will leave Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford as the only openly LGBTQ chief executive among Fortune 500 companies, according to Fortune.

The decline is recent. Fortune reported that there were four openly LGBTQ Fortune 500 CEOs three years ago, before Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette left his post in 2024 and before the planned exits of Cook and Fitterling. Outside the Fortune 500, Fortune noted that Coty CEO Sue Nabi, a rare transgender chief executive, left the beauty company late last year.

Other underrepresented groups have also made limited progress in the C-suite, according to Fortune. The publication reported that there are 11 Black CEOs and 22 women CEOs in the Fortune 500, both historic highs but still far below those groups’ shares of the U.S. population. Fitterling is being succeeded at Dow by Karen Carter, a Black woman, Fortune reported.

Fortune said the number of openly LGBTQ Fortune 500 leaders could rise again if OpenAI joins the list. The company is widely expected to list shares later this year, Fortune reported, and CEO Sam Altman is gay. Companies must file financial information with U.S. regulators to be eligible for the Fortune 500, according to Fortune.

Even with Altman, Fortune reported, the tally would remain small compared with the LGBTQ share of the U.S. population. Gallup has estimated that LGBTQ people make up between 3% and 10% of Americans, with higher identification among younger adults, Fortune reported.

Todd Spears, founder of Out Leadership, told Fortune that the current count likely misses executives who have not publicly disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity. He said older executives often came up in workplaces where personal identity and professional life were kept separate. Fortune noted that Cook came out publicly in 2014, three years after becoming Apple’s CEO.

Spears also told Fortune that the political climate may be discouraging some LGBTQ executives and employees from being public at work. Fortune reported that many companies have pulled back from diversity, equity and inclusion programs in recent years, citing pressure from conservative activists and the Trump administration.

The Human Rights Campaign said 65% fewer Fortune 500 companies took part in its latest Corporate Equality Index than in the prior year, according to Fortune. Fortune cautioned that nonparticipation does not necessarily mean companies ended DEI work, and may mean some chose not to report it.

Gallup found that U.S. support for marriage equality fell six percentage points from its peak to 65% last year, Fortune reported. Bloomberg, however, reported last week that corporate sponsorship of Pride Month events increased this year, a sign that some large companies may be more willing to show public support again.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.