Watch the VideoGail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross, began her career as a computer programmer at AT&T. She moved up the ranks to become executive vice president for the Consumer Markets Division, a $26 billion business with 40,000 employees. In 1998, Gail joined Fidelity Investments where she served as president of Fidelity Personal Investments, a unit with 10,000 employees and a half trillion dollars of assets under management. Four years later, Gail joined the faculty of HarvardBusinessSchool where she taught marketing. In 2008, she accepted the position of president and CEO of the American Red Cross, a $3 billion organization devoted to alleviating human suffering in the face emergencies. Since joining the Red Cross, Gail helped to transform the 131-year old American institution into a 21st Century emergency response and blood services organization. Gail is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, where she received an undergraduate degree in Quantitative Sciences, and Columbia University where she earned her MBA. She was awarded alumna of the year from both Universities. In 2000 and 2001, she was listed as one of Fortune’s 50 most powerful women.
