Two Houston CEOs Rank Ahead of Oprah in World’s Most Powerful Women Rankings: Billion Dollar Difference Makers Stand Out

Fortune has smiled upon two top female Houston executives — literally. Fortune magazine just revealed its list of the Most Powerful Women of 2018, and Space City businesswomen made an incredibly strong statement.

So just what makes a woman most powerful? There are four main criteria. Those would be “size and importance of the woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman’s career (resume and her career runway ahead) and social and cultural influence.”

That’s a tall order, but for Houston’s own Vicki Hollub and Lisa Davis, it’s order up. They’re in good company, joining legendary girl bosses such as Sheryl Sandberg and Oprah Winfrey on this elite list. In fact, they’re both ranked ahead of Oprah, who comes in at No. 51.

Now, that’s power.

Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum, is a repeat Most Powerful Woman. Last year, she ranked No. 32 on the list of 51 women. This year, she climbs up four spots to No. 28. Fortune was wowed by Oxy growing its profit, share price and revenue under her leadership — despite seriously depressed global oil prices.

Hollub became CEO two years ago. That makes her the very first woman to head a major American oil company. Her first year, energy monster Oxy saw a $574 million loss. But last year, Hollub turned that around with a $1.3 billion profit. She owes it to a successful cost-cutting strategy. Not to mention her impressive Permian Basin play — growing revenue 29 percent to $13.3 billion in 2017.

Oh, and she has her very own Wikipedia page. That’s how you know you’ve really arrived.

Lisa Davis — a list newcomer from Houston — snagged the No. 31 ranking. The powerful woman is a member of the managing board of Germany’s Siemens AG and chair of its United States business unit. Davis oversees all of the tech titan’s Americas activity, which accounts for half the revenue of the $92-billion company.

Well done, Hollub and Davis. Well done.