Three CEOs from Virginia return to Fortune’s most powerful women list

Three Virginia defense contractors’ CEOs returned to Fortune‘s 100 Most Powerful Women in business list for 2025, the publication announced Tuesday.

Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of Reston-based General Dynamics, is ranked at No. 36 and is the highest placed Virginia executive on the global list. However, she fell 10 spots from her ranking at No. 26 in 2024.

Novakovic, now in her 12th year as CEO, saw a nearly 13% increase in revenue in 2024 to $47.7 billion, but General Dynamics has encountered some supply chain difficulties, as well as shareholder pushback over the use of its weapons in Gaza, Fortune notes.

Kathy Warden, the chair, CEO and president of Falls Church-based Northrop Grumman, is ranked No. 68 — down 43 places from her 2024 ranking. According to Fortune, in 2025 NG has “faced some difficulties — including posting losses on the initial production of its stealth bomber program due to higher manufacturing costs and inflation.”

At No. 82 is Toni Townes-Whitley, CEO of Reston’s Science Applications International Co. (SAIC), who rose from her debut on the list last year at No. 95. Named SAIC’s chief executive in 2023, Townes-Whitley said in March during an earnings call that the Trump administration’s cuts in federal spending have had a “nominal” impact on the company’s finances, Fortune notes.

Fortune’s list of the world’s most powerful business women is now in its 28th year, and it again is led by General Motors CEO Mary Barra, who has been No. 1 on the list two years in a row. In second place is Accenture Chair and CEO Julie Sweet, who formerly was based in the professional services company’s Arlington County office. Rounding out the top five spots are Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su and Banco Santander Executive Chair Ana Botín.

Fortune says that it ranked the 2025 list with numerical scores based on six factors: business size, business health, executive’s influence, innovation, career trajectory and efforts to make business better. The metrics take into account 12-month and three-year results, the publication says. Only 20 female Fortune 500 CEOs made the list this year, out of more than 50 women leading Fortune 500 companies, and 52 of the women on the 2025 list are based in the United States.