The Top 50 St. Louis Women Leaders of 2026
St. Louis has always punched above its weight when it comes to “get-it-done” leadership. In a metro where global corporate headquarters sit alongside world-class healthcare, a fast-evolving innovation scene, and a deep civic network that actually talks to each other, influence looks less like flash-and more like momentum: jobs created, neighborhoods stabilized, access expanded, talent developed, and entire sectors pulled forward.
This ranked list spotlights 50 of the most influential women shaping the Greater St. Louis business and civic economy-spanning major enterprises, founder-led firms, healthcare systems, finance, construction/real estate, sports, education, law, and nonprofit powerhouses. It’s intentionally cross-industry, because St. Louis influence is rarely siloed.
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#1 Chrissy Taylor
Enterprise Mobility is one of the most consequential companies headquartered in the St. Louis region, and Chrissy Taylor sits at the center of its strategy and culture. After holding 17 different roles across the organization before becoming CEO in 2020, she represents a modern operator’s path to the top-grounded in frontline experience and built for scale. Under her leadership, Enterprise continues shaping how people move (rental, fleet, and broader mobility services) while remaining a major employer and civic force in the metro.
#2 Penny Pennington
Few roles carry as much day-to-day economic gravity in St. Louis as leading Edward Jones. Penny Pennington steers the St. Louis-based firm as Managing Partner, overseeing a national platform serving 9+ million clients and $2.2T in client assets under care. She’s also notable as the firm’s first female managing partner, and she has pushed the organization’s evolution toward deeper financial planning and advice-work that ripples outward through households, small businesses, and community investment across the region.
#3 Sarah London
As CEO of Centene, Sarah London leads a St. Louis-headquartered healthcare enterprise deeply intertwined with Medicaid and government-sponsored healthcare-meaning decisions made in local executive suites can affect coverage, care access, and provider ecosystems nationwide. She has been recognized for leadership at the intersection of healthcare and technology modernization, and Centene has publicly highlighted her influence in the industry. In a metro where healthcare is both an employer and an identity, her impact reaches from corporate strategy to community-level health outcomes.
#4 Laura S. Kaiser
Laura Kaiser leads one of the region’s most important institutions: SSM Health, an $11.4B integrated health system headquartered in St. Louis. Beyond operational leadership, she has been repeatedly recognized in the broader healthcare field-SSM notes she’s been named among Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential” for multiple years. In practical St. Louis terms, her influence shows up in workforce pipelines, care delivery redesign, and the strategic choices that determine how healthcare services scale across communities.
#5 Nina Leigh Krueger
Purina is a signature St. Louis corporate presence, and Nina Leigh Krueger’s leadership places her among the region’s most influential executives. As CEO, she steers strategy and performance at a company with a major local footprint-helping shape everything from high-skilled jobs to brand investment and regional corporate citizenship. In a metro that values stable anchors and innovation, her role is a prime example of national scale headquartered in local community.
#6 Kathy Mazzarella
Graybar is a long-standing St. Louis-based powerhouse in distribution and supply-chain enablement, and Kathy Mazzarella has been one of its defining modern leaders. Her role sits at the intersection of infrastructure, industrial modernization, and business continuity-areas that don’t always make headlines, but determine whether regional projects and systems actually function. She’s also one of the most visible examples of long-term, high-level corporate leadership rooted in St. Louis.
#7 Cara Spencer
In any metro, city leadership is economic leadership-especially in a region working to convert investment into broad-based opportunity. Cara Spencer was sworn in as St. Louis’ 48th mayor in April 2025, and her agenda emphasizes a stronger, more prosperous city-including an “inclusive economy” focus noted in local coverage. Whether the issue is development policy, public services, or business climate, the mayor’s office sets the tone for regional collaboration.
#8 Carolyn Kindle
St. Louis CITY SC isn’t just a sports franchise-it’s a downtown-adjacent economic engine tied to tourism, real estate energy, jobs, and national visibility. As CEO, Carolyn Kindle leads the business side of a major-league brand with a community-facing posture, shaping partnerships and the way the club integrates into the region’s identity. Her influence sits at the crossroads of sports, entertainment, and civic brand-building-an increasingly important sector in competitive metros.
#9 Lisa Nichols
St. Louis’ tech story is built as much on talent pathways as it is on startups-and Lisa Nichols has been a steady force in that ecosystem. As CEO of Technology Partners, she leads a St. Louis-based tech services and staffing organization that connects companies to critical digital skills. Her influence shows up in workforce outcomes, professional development, and how the region competes for and retains tech talent.
#10 Elizabeth Zucker
Construction and development leadership shapes how a metro physically becomes itself-from workplaces to neighborhoods. Elizabeth Zucker leads Clayco’s St. Louis region and Lamar Johnson Collaborative, and she has been recognized among the St. Louis region’s most influential businesswomen. Her platform touches major projects, real estate strategy, and the business networks that decide what gets built, where, and with what community impact.
#11 Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Influence isn’t only measured in corporate titles-it’s also measured in lives changed at scale. Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s foundation has long focused on helping youth in East St. Louis “win in life,” with programming that includes after-school support and youth development activities. In a region where long-term prosperity depends on educational opportunity and safe, structured youth environments, her impact is both direct and generational.
#12 Kathy O’Neill
Kathy O’Neill’s influence is the kind that shapes institutions behind the scenes-operations, systems, and continuity at a major Federal Reserve bank. The St. Louis Fed notes she served as First Vice President and COO, and also served as interim president/CEO during the transition period before retiring in 2024\. That combination of operational authority and interim executive stewardship makes her one of the region’s most consequential finance-and-governance leaders of recent years.
#13 Pat Coleman
In a construction and industrial economy, the ability to expand and modernize the workforce is a competitive advantage. Pat Coleman joined Alberici as VP of DEI to champion recruiting and retention of diverse talent and deepen engagement with disadvantaged businesses-work that affects who gets access to opportunity in major projects and supply chains. Her influence is practical: building systems that widen participation and strengthen community-connected economic growth.
#14 Julie Erickson
Julie Erickson leads Rx Outreach, a nonprofit pharmacy platform with direct implications for affordability and medication access. Washington University’s Olin Business School highlighted her recognition among the region’s most influential businesswomen and noted measurable growth in service and revenue in recent years. In a healthcare-heavy metro, leaders who expand access while scaling sustainably are uniquely influential-because the “product” is stability for families.
#15 Laurna Godwin
Laurna Godwin is a bridge-builder in the most literal sense: she leads public engagement and communications work that helps large projects and civic initiatives earn trust and move forward. Vector describes her as a longtime communications leader and Emmy-winning journalist who now runs a St. Louis-based consulting firm focused on engagement and outreach. In St. Louis, where alignment across neighborhoods, agencies, and institutions matters, this kind of influence can unlock progress that expertise alone can’t.
#16 Yemi Akande-Bartsch
FOCUS St. Louis is deeply woven into the region’s civic and leadership fabric, and Yemi Akande-Bartsch sits at the helm. Her influence is about convening-bringing cross-sector professionals into the same room, strengthening leadership capacity, and turning “community concern” into structured action. In a metro where collaboration is often the differentiator, leadership-development infrastructure is itself a form of economic power.
#17 Charlotte Hammond
Charlotte Hammond leads Challenge Unlimited, an organization known for connecting people to work and support-particularly in disability services and workforce development. Her influence is in outcomes: helping employers solve staffing needs while expanding who gets access to stable employment and skills. That’s a major lever in any regional economy, especially one balancing growth with equity.
#18 LaTonia Collins Smith
As president of Harris-Stowe, LaTonia Collins Smith leads an institution central to workforce development, educator pipelines, and upward mobility. Her influence extends beyond campus: universities shape the talent a region produces and retains, and they often serve as anchors in neighborhood-based economic ecosystems. In St. Louis, where education and opportunity gaps remain a defining challenge, leadership at this level has real metro-wide impact.
#19 Rebecca Brown
University governance and strategy may sound internal-but at WashU scale, it’s regional strategy. Rebecca Brown was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Most Influential Business Women” class, reflecting how higher-ed leadership increasingly overlaps with economic development, research translation, and civic partnership. Her influence sits in the connective tissue between institutional decision-making and the region’s long-term competitiveness.
#20 Tracy Henke
Advanced manufacturing is a pillar of the St. Louis economy, and Tracy Henke’s leadership at AMICSTL has been recognized in the context of the region’s most influential businesswomen. AMICSTL highlighted her role in driving manufacturing innovation, partnerships, and regional growth-exactly the kind of behind-the-scenes work that turns investment into durable capability.
#21 Jill Butler
As the driving force behind RedKey Realty Leaders, Butler has built a respected St Louis brokerage known for strong agent support and a service-first culture. Her entrepreneurial leadership turns real estate expertise into community impact by elevating professional standards, fostering growth, and helping families and neighborhoods thrive through smart homeownership decisions.
#22 Stacy Johnson
Johnson leads one of the region’s most consequential early-childhood pipelines, directing large-scale Head Start services that strengthen readiness for more than a thousand children and working families each year. By pairing operational discipline with mission-driven leadership, she expands opportunity, supports workforce participation, and advances the YWCA’s impact across St Louis.
#23 Miranda Walker Jones
Under Jones’s leadership, The Little Bit Foundation has become a powerful engine for educational equity, removing barriers that keep students from learning and succeeding. Her ability to build partnerships and mobilize resources translates into measurable, citywide impact for families and schools across the region.
#24 Lynn T. Goessling
Goessling is a seasoned legal advisor whose work in commercial real estate and business matters helps clients execute complex deals with confidence and clarity. Her steady counsel and deep market knowledge make her a trusted partner for organizations investing and growing in St Louis.
#25 Jennah Purk, CPA
Purk has distinguished herself as an entrepreneur and advisor, guiding business owners through tax strategy, compliance, and long-term wealth planning. By translating technical finance into practical decisions, she helps clients protect profits, plan for succession, and build stronger companies.
#26 Holly Breuer
Breuer founded and leads Prosper CPAs with a modern, client-focused approach that helps growing businesses turn financial data into strategic advantage. Her leadership empowers entrepreneurs to improve profitability, strengthen controls, and make confident decisions that scale.
#27 Maxine Clark
Clark transformed a simple idea into a global retail phenomenon by founding Build-A-Bear Workshop and redefining experiential shopping. Her continued civic and philanthropic leadership reinforces St Louis’s entrepreneurial brand and proves how purpose-driven innovation can create lasting jobs and community value.
#28 Betsy Cohen
Cohen has been a catalytic force in making St Louis more globally connected, advancing initiatives that welcome, retain, and elevate international talent and investment. Her leadership strengthens the region’s competitiveness by aligning civic partners around inclusive growth and a vibrant, future-ready economy.
#29 Elizabeth Edwards
Edwards shapes portfolio and marketing strategy at Amazon, bringing clear-eyed strategic thinking to how products are positioned and grown at global scale. Her work converts customer insight into disciplined execution that drives measurable business impact in one of the world’s most competitive marketplaces.
#30 Erin Oller
Oller helps steer domestic business development and strategy for Boeing Global Services, supporting growth opportunities that keep critical aerospace and defense capabilities mission-ready. Her ability to connect strategy, customer needs, and execution delivers durable value for clients and strengthens a cornerstone industry for the region.
#31 Kimberly Prescott
Prescott builds strategic skills pipelines and talent acquisition programs at Bayer, ensuring the organization can attract and develop the specialized expertise that life-science innovation demands. Her focus on modern recruiting practices and inclusive workforce strategy makes a direct contribution to business performance and long-term competitiveness.
#32 Natalie Haynes
As an indirect tax partner and leader of EY’s US sales and use tax practice, Haynes guides complex organizations through fast-changing compliance and technology demands. She pairs deep technical mastery with data-driven innovation, helping clients manage risk while unlocking operational efficiency at scale.
#33 Angela Hart
Hart leads enterprise cloud solutions work at KPMG, helping organizations modernize systems and move critical operations securely into the cloud. By turning complex technology change into reliable outcomes, she enables clients to innovate faster, reduce risk, and build resilient digital foundations.
#34 Casey Reed
Reed leads population-health medical engagement for Sanofi, translating evidence and quality-improvement practices into tools that help health systems make better, more consistent decisions. Her cross-sector expertise strengthens partnerships with organized customers and advances outcomes-focused care across multiple therapeutic areas.
#35 Zundra Bryant
Bryant leads global people experiences and services at Cushman & Wakefield, elevating how a major workforce is supported, developed, and empowered to perform. Her civic leadership in St Louis, including guiding entrepreneurship initiatives, expands opportunity and strengthens the region’s talent-driven growth.
#36 Stacy Brown
As chief human resources officer for Rabobank North America, Brown aligns talent strategy with a mission-driven financial institution that supports agriculture and food systems. Her leadership builds high-performing teams, strengthens culture, and ensures the organization can serve customers with excellence through changing market conditions.
#37 Kristi Tramont
Tramont leads global fraud operations at SoFi, protecting members and the company by strengthening controls, detection, and response in a fast-moving digital finance environment. Her operational rigor and customer-first mindset help build trust at scale—a competitive advantage in modern financial services.
#38 Emily Thibodeau
With more than two decades in event management, Thibodeau leads teams that deliver thousands of complex, high-profile programs that drive engagement and business results for clients. Her operational excellence and calm, collaborative leadership turn ambitious experiences into flawless execution—the kind of impact that protects brands and grows relationships.
#39 Dr. Laura Pletz
Pletz provides regional medical leadership for BluePearl’s specialty and emergency network in the West, raising clinical standards and supporting veterinarians who deliver critical care. A former practice owner and respected mentor, she advances the profession by developing leaders and improving patient outcomes at scale.
#40 Christine Hoffmann
As managing director for Interior Investments in St Louis, Hoffmann leads workplace and interiors projects that help organizations create environments where people collaborate, focus, and perform at their best. Her blend of client service and operational leadership turns design and procurement into measurable productivity and culture gains.
#41 Rose Thompson
Thompson drives operational alignment and strategic initiatives at ButcherJoseph, ensuring the firm executes complex transactions with consistency, speed, and exceptional client care. Her repeated recognition among top regional executives reflects the measurable leadership impact she delivers across growth, culture, and performance.
#42 Alecia McGuire
McGuire grows adoption of Commute with Enterprise by helping employers implement vanpool programs that save time, reduce costs, and cut congestion for their teams. By pairing consultative sales leadership with a sustainability mindset, she turns smarter commuting into tangible value for businesses and communities.
#43 Dr. Dena McCaffrey
As president of Jefferson College, McCaffrey leads an institution that fuels regional workforce readiness, credential attainment, and employer partnerships. Her strategic stewardship strengthens access and completion while positioning the college as an economic catalyst for students, families, and local industry.
#44 Dr. Tanya Patton
Patton’s superintendency is focused on accelerating academic progress and building supportive systems for scholars, families, and educators across Riverview Gardens. By combining deep instructional experience with community-centered leadership, she is strengthening the long-term talent pipeline that St Louis employers rely on.
#45 Kim Hunt
Hunt blends workforce development expertise with social entrepreneurship, helping individuals build skills, confidence, and pathways to sustainable careers. Through Saving Black Minds, she has advanced culturally responsive mental-health advocacy and community support that strengthens families and, in turn, the region’s economic resilience.
#46 Melissa Crowe Schopfer
Schopfer is a trusted trial attorney whose work helps secure accountability and meaningful outcomes for clients facing high-stakes, life-changing challenges. Her leadership in complex litigation showcases the rigor, empathy, and strategic excellence that define top-tier legal impact in St Louis.
#47 Valerie Patton
Patton has shaped regional business culture through pioneering diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership that helped organizations translate intention into measurable opportunity. As a consultant and civic leader, she continues to strengthen St Louis by building bridges across sectors and developing future leaders committed to inclusive growth.
#48 Jaimie Mansfield
Mansfield is a seasoned real estate lawyer whose blend of private-practice and in-house counsel experience brings uncommon perspective to complex development, finance, and transaction matters. Clients value her practical, business-minded guidance that helps projects move forward efficiently while managing risk.
#49 Wakaba Tessier
Tessier advises health and life sciences clients on regulatory and business challenges, bringing precision and strategic insight to an industry where compliance and innovation must move together. Her work helps organizations navigate complexity with confidence, accelerating progress while protecting patients and stakeholders.
#50 Louise Pooley
Pooley has built Pooley Accounting Services into a dependable partner for small businesses and individuals who need clear guidance and disciplined financial stewardship. Her commitment to accuracy, responsiveness, and client education helps owners stay compliant, make smarter decisions, and grow with confidence.
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