Rare Beauty founder Selena Gomez and Skims entrepreneur Kim Kardashian have been named among the top women in business in a new list.
Elyse Cohen, Rare Beauty’s Chief Impact Officer and President of the brand’s Rare Impact Fund, along with Artemis Patrick, Sephora’s North America President and CEO, have also been recognised among the top 50 female leaders in CNBC’s Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list.
The list recognises “a distinguished group of women from companies and organisations across all sectors of the economy whose accomplishments have profoundly shaped the public and private sectors, while paving a path for others to follow,” read a statement from CNBC.
The annual list, now in its third year, is inspired by the best-selling book, When Women Lead, written by CNBC’s Senior Media and Technology Correspondent Julia Boorstin.
Nominees are chosen using a data-driven approach that analyses the quantitative and qualitative significance of contributions to their industry or sector in 2025.
The 50 women recognised on the list are noted for having “crossed meaningful financial milestones, achieved significant business results, redefined leadership, solved old problems with new approaches, and identified untapped opportunities in the past year”.
Gomez’s standout achievement was noted on the list as Rare Beauty hitting an estimated value of US$2.7m last year, “through product expansion and its charitable initiative focused on youth mental health”.
2025 also saw Rare Beauty enter the fragrance category, with a focus on accessibility.
Cohen was also praised for her advancement of the fund through partnerships with Sephora and others.
Kardashian, who is poised to launch a new beauty brand this year, was praised for helping lead Skims to a $5bn value in 2025, as well as for the successful launch of NikeSkims
Meanwhile Patrick, who was elevated to the top Sephora job in the US in 2023, was credited for her capital investment project – the largest in the company’s history – which will see more than 600 stores across the region revamped.
Full list of CNBC’s top 50 female leaders in business:
- Allison Ellsworth, co-founder, Poppi
- Amy Butte, Strategic Advisor, Navan
- Amy Howe, CEO, FanDuel
- Amy Scheer, Executive VP of Business Operations, Professional Women’s Hockey League
- Artemis Patrick, President and CEO, Sephora North America
- Asahi Pompey, Global Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement (OCE), Chair of the Urban Investment Group (UIG), President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and President of Goldman Sachs Gives, Goldman Sachs
- Cristina Junqueira, co-founder, Nubank
- Eimear Bonner, CFO, Chevron
- Elena Gomez, President and CFO, Toast
- Elyse Cohen, Chief Impact Officer, Rare Beauty, and President, Rare Impact Fund
- Felicia Curcuru, CEO, Binti
- Fran Katsoudas, Executive VP and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer, Cisco
- Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO, Elevance Health
- Gina Mastantuono, President and CFO, ServiceNow
- Hanneke Faber, CEO, Logitech
- Helen Sabzevari, President and CEO, Precigen
- Jane Sun, CEO, Trip.com Group
- Jayna Hefford, Executive VP of Hockey Operations, Professional Women’s Hockey League
- Jenny Johnson, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton
- Johanna Mercier, Chief Commercial Officer, Gilead Sciences
- Kara Nortman, co-founder, Monarch Collective, and co-founder, Angel City FC
- Kendra Scott, founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Kendra Scott
- Kim Kardashian, co-founder and CEO, Skims
- Kristin Lemkau, CEO, JP Morgan Wealth Management
- Kristina Saffran, co-founder and CEO, Equip
- Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian
- Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO and co-founder, Wellthy
- Lisa Anderson, President and co-founder, Paragonix Technologies
- Luana Lopes Lara, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Kalshi
- Marie Myers, Executive VPand CFO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Mary Claire Haver, founder, The ‘Pause Life
- Mary Powell, CEO, Sunrun
- Minna Song, co-founder and CEO, EliseAI
- Mira Murati, co-founder and CEO, Thinking Machines Lab
- Natalie Gordon, CEO, Babylist
- Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO, Sandy Hook Promise
- Pamela Abdy, Co-Chair and CEO, Warner Bros Motion Picture Group
- Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Peacock Scripted Television Studios
- Rachel Blank, CEO, Allara Health
- Reshema Kemps-Polanco, Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer, Novartis
- Sarah Buchner, founder and CEO, Trunk Tools
- Selena Gomez, founder, Rare Beauty and Rare Impact Fund
- Sherrie Westin, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop
- Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO, US Ski & Snowboard
- Suchi Saria, CEO and founder, Bayesian Health
- Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, CEO, Xero Limited
- Susie Wolff, founder and Managing Director, F1 Academy
- Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO, Waymo
- Val Ackerman, Commissioner, The BIG EAST Conference
- Vinita Gupta, CEO, Lupin Inc.