List recognizes female leaders who are impacting society, challenging established business practices and driving industry-wide change
First episode of new original podcast “CNBC Changemakers & Power Players” available now
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., September 30, 2025 — CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced the opening of nominations for the third CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list. The unranked list, inspired by CNBC Senior Media & Technology Correspondent Julia Boorstin’s best-selling book, “When Women Lead,” will recognize a distinguished group of women whose accomplishments have left a mark on the business world and who are paving a path forward. The CNBC Changemakers list will feature women from companies and philanthropic organizations across all sectors of the economy and around the globe.
Like the previous CNBC Changemakers lists, honorees will have crossed meaningful financial milestones, achieved significant business results, challenged traditional leadership models, solved old problems with new approaches, and identified untapped opportunities in the past year. They will be recognized for setting new standards for success and management, overcoming gender barriers and serving as role models for all.
The nomination process for CNBC Changemakers begins today, September 30, 2025, and runs through November 21, 2025, at 11:59pm ET. Nominations are open to women in senior leadership roles at companies with at least $25 million in annual revenue in at least one of the past three years or with an enterprise value of at least $100 million for private companies or $250 million for public companies. The list will be selected with a data-driven approach that considers the quantitative and qualitative impact and significance of each nominee’s contribution to their industry or sector in 2025. Complete details on how to apply can be found here: cnbc.com/changemakers.
The CNBC editorial team will work with the CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board, a group of top academics, management experts and business icons, to determine the weight of quantitative and qualitative criteria that will be used to select the final list.
CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board members:
- Marcela Miguel Berland, Latin Insights Founder & President
- Julia Boorstin, CNBC Senior Media & Tech Correspondent
- Tory Burch, Tory Burch LLC Executive Chairman & Chief Creative Officer; Tory Burch Foundation Founder
- Emma Carrasco, NBCUniversal News Group Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs
- Karen Finerman, Metropolitan Capital Advisors CEO & Co-Founder and CNBC Contributor
- Ken Frazier, General Catalyst’s Health Assurance Initiatives Chairman; former Merck Chairman & CEO
- Desiree Gruber, Full Picture Founder & CEO
- Oscar Munoz, Former CEO & Chairman United Airlines and CNBC Contributor
- Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective Founder & President
- Dina Powell McCormick, BDT & MSD Partners Vice Chair, President & Global Head of Client Services; 2024 CNBC Changemaker
- Merline Saintil, Rocket Lab Lead Independent Director; Black Women on Boards Co-Founder
- Sheryl Sandberg, LeanIn.org and OptionB.org Founder
- Dr. Stacy L. Smith, Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Founder
The CNBC Changemakers list will be announced in February 2026 and an event celebrating the 2026 CNBC Changemakers will take place in the spring. More details will be released in the coming weeks.
In conjunction with the call for this year’s nominations, CNBC also debuted the new original podcast, CNBC Changemakers & Power Players today. Hosted by Boorstin, the podcast features in-depth, candid interviews with female innovators, executives, and entrepreneurs—from the CNBC Changemakers list and beyond—who are reshaping the future of business. From tech and finance to sports, entertainment, and health, these women share the strategies behind their success and the challenges they’ve overcome to lead with impact. The premiere episode is available now with new episodes every Tuesday. Follow and listen to CNBC Changemakers & Power Players on all major podcast platforms.
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For more information contact:
Jennifer Dauble
CNBC
t: 201.735.4721
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