Booz Allen Leads the Way for Women on Corporate Boards

On average, women hold 20 percent of the seats on Fortune 1000 corporate boards, according to a recent report by the diversity advocacy group 2020 Women on Boards. This year, Booz Allen was proud to add two extraordinary women to its board of directors, Michéle A. Flournoy and Ellen Jewett, who joined directors Joan Amble, Melody Barnes, and Gretchen McClain to make Booz Allen’s board 38.4 percent female -- nearly double the industry average.

In addition, Booz Allen stands out among publicly traded companies for gender diversity at the highest levels of firm leadership with 6 of the 11 members of the leadership team being women.

In an October interview with Washington Technology, chief people officer Betty Thompson said, “We are looking for the highest quality people and diversity is certainly a part of that. People want to see people that are like them at the top of the company and on the board.”

Recently, Women Inc. magazine featured Amble, Barnes, and McClain among its 2018 Most Influential Corporate Directors in recognition of their work on the Booz Allen board. The 2018 Most Influential Corporate Directors list “represents a sampling of women’s professional excellence at the highest level” and will be featured in the winter 2018 edition of Women Inc.

“Women Inc. is proud to recognize this distinguished group of women serving on public boards,” said Catrina Young, executive vice president and chief communications officer of Women Inc. Magazine. “We are inspired by these accomplished executives, their distinguished careers, and the corporations that demonstrate inclusive board composition.”

Multifaceted leadership that empowers others

Amble joined Booz Allen’s board in 2012 after holding a variety of executive positions for American Express Company and GE Capital. She also serves on the boards of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. and Zurich Insurance Group, is a member of the Standing Advisory Group for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and co-founded W.O.M.E.N. In America, a leadership program designed to enable high-potential women in business to achieve their goals.

Before joining Booz Allen’s board in 2015, Barnes worked for President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and the Center for American Progress. She’s currently a senior fellow and visiting professor at the University of Virginia and a principal of MBSquared Solutions LLC, the domestic policy strategy firm she co-founded. She also serves as chair of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions and as a director at Ventas Inc., a real estate investment trust.

Flournoy was Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from 2009 to 2012 and co-founded the Center for a New American Security. A managing partner at WestExec Advisors and a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, she is also currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group. Previously, she served on the Defense Policy Board, advised the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and was a distinguished research professor at the National Defense University.

Jewett brings to Booz Allen’s board experience in domestic and international finance, business and investment, talent management, and airports and infrastructure. She spent more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs in positions including head of the public sector transportation group and the airport finance group. She is currently managing partner at Canoe Point Capital LLC and previously worked at BMO Capital Markets as managing director and head of U.S. Government and Infrastructure.

McClain, who joined Booz Allen’s board in 2014, played a pivotal role in the development of the International Space Station Program, serving as chief director of the space station and deputy director for space flight. She spent nine years with NASA as deputy associate administrator for space development. She’s held senior executive positions with Honeywell Aerospace, ITT Corporation, and Xylem—where she was president and CEO—and also currently serves on the board of directors for AMETEK.

Learn more about the 2018 Most Influential Corporate Directors list and how Booz Allen supports women in the workplace.