Meet The Newcomers On The World’s Most Powerful Women List 2020

MacKenzie Scott joins 16 other newcomers on our list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

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^This November, Stacey Abrams solidified herself as a household name. The Georgia Democrat and former House minority leader was largely credited with helping flip her state blue during one of the most divisive presidential elections in recent history. And for that, she debuts on our 2020 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women at No. 100.

Joining her is vice president-elect Kamala Harris, our top-ranked newcomer, at No. 3. The first woman and the first woman of color to hold her position, Harris is one of 16 other newcomers (and one returnee) on our 2020 list. These powerful women span industries from politics to media and entertainment to the business world. Eight newcomers are based in the U.S., though a strong showing are also from Asia and Europe.

Take China’s Kelly Zhang, No. 62, who was promoted to CEO of tech company ByteDance China in March. Formerly the CEO of Douyin, TikTok’s China sister app, she (and her company) have had quite a busy year. President Donald Trump voiced concerns this year that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was sharing user data with the Chinese government, which the company has denied. He vowed to force ByteDance to sell off TikTok, or at least divest its U.S. operations. The dispute is still unresolved, but Zhang has come out on top, overseeing Douyin, popular Chinese news app Toutiao and Chinese video platform Xigua, among others.

In Europe, Martina Merz, a powerhouse in the German economy, joins the list at No. 19. Merz was named CEO of steel production conglomerate Thyssenkrupp for three years in March. She had been serving as the company’s interim CEO since late last year. The announcement came less than a month after Merz successfully oversaw the sale of Thyssenkrupp’s elevator business for roughly $20 billion to a consortium of bidders.

Another newsworthy newcomer is MacKenzie Scott, No. 67. Shortly after announcing the terms of her divorce with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Scott signed the Giving Pledge in May 2019, vowing to give away her money “until the safe is empty.” This year, she stayed true to her promise, and announced in July that she’d given nearly $1.7 billion to nearly 120 nonprofit groups, including the Transgender Law Center and the Movement for Black Lives.

Joining her is list returnee Tory Burch at No. 88. The fashion entrepreneur graced the cover of Forbes earlier this year as one of America’s richest self-made women. Burch, who had to reinvent her fashion business during the pandemic, told Forbes, “I’ve been working pretty severe hours for the last 15 years to build a company and do it in a way that really thinks about the long term.”