2024 Changemakers: How CNBC chose the inaugural list

• To create the inaugural Changemakers list, CNBC editorial staff and an advisory board reviewed quantitative metrics and assessed qualitative attributes of women leaders.
• CNBC received more than 700 nominations from women across the business and cultural landscape, from small startups to the world's most valuable multinationals.  
• Key to the nomination was a "2023 achievement," a specific, measurable contribution made to the business world in 2023.

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The first step in creating a brand new list of women transforming business is determining what it means to be a transformative leader.  

Members of the CNBC Changemakers Advisory Board gave us many ideas, telling us that transformative leaders, especially women, are those who commit to meaningful change. They break down barriers, and promote inclusivity.  

They are also leaders who understand the importance of collaboration, surrounding themselves with others who know things they don't know or have skills they don't have.  

These, we are told, are qualities that the most transformative female leaders have in common, and qualities we wanted to see in the Changemakers. They are also qualities that are inherently difficult to measure. That was CNBC's challenge as we determined the first fifty Changemakers, as we sought to apply quantitative metrics as well as measure the intangible attributes of these important leading women.  

Here's how we did it:  

From October 3–November 17, 2023, CNBC conducted an open call for nominations for the Changemakers List. Anyone could submit a nomination on behalf of any woman from any company or organization with at least $25 million in revenue in at least one of the past three years or an enterprise value of at least $100 million. Nominees/nominators were asked to complete a detailed nomination form. This questionnaire contained quantitative and qualitative information which was used as the basis for CNBC's evaluation. 

Key to the nomination was the "2023 achievement," a specific, measurable contribution made to the business world in 2023. This could be anything from launching a new product or service, to leading a turnaround effort, to sparking a viral cultural moment or movement. Whatever it was, it was important in the selection process that we identify a reason why each woman named to the list deserved the honor this year. Next year, we'll choose a whole new list of 50 women, and it is entirely possible that many of those women were nominated this year.  

In all, CNBC received more than 700 nominations from women across the business and cultural landscape, from companies and organizations ranging from small startups to the world's most valuable multinationals.  

The evaluation of the 700-plus nominees began with a quantitative assessment. Nominees were evaluated on five broad categories: results of the achievement in 2023; influence of the individual woman leader; reach of the company/organization, representation, and experience. Nominee scores in each category were then weighted according to a survey completed by members of the Changemakers Advisory Board. The board determined that "Results" and "Influence" were the most important categories, while "Experience" was given the lowest weighting of the five categories.  

After the quantitative evaluation, approximately one-third of the nominees were selected to move forward to a second round, which included a qualitative assessment, based on their weighted total scores. To move on to round two, nominees either scored in the top 25% overall, scored in the top 25% in a key category (such as "startup founder" or "nonprofit CEO"), or they received a recommendation from one or more of the Advisory Board members as part of their initial survey.  

For round two, the remaining nominees were divided into groups of 30 for qualitative assessment. A team of CNBC editorial staff, along with members of the Advisory Board, read the responses submitted with each nomination and assigned up to five points for each of three criteria. These were:  

Contribution: Looking specifically at the response to "Contribution to the business world in 2023," scorers assessed the contribution the applicant made to the business world, and to broader society, last year.  

Transformational Change: Scorers were to assess whether the specific contribution, as well as the balance of the nominee's work, and the manner in which that work is done, represents a fundamental shift in the way business gets done. More specifically, scorers were asked to look for ways in which nominees reject traditional male archetypes of business leadership and lead with their own authentic, unique strengths.  

Inspiring Leader: Scorers were asked whether the applicant's story inspires them, and whether it will inspire her employees, customers and investors. 

Qualitative scores were added to the quantitative score from round one, with each weighted equally (50% qualitative, 50% quantitative), and nominees were re-ranked according to their total scores.  

A smaller group of CNBC editorial senior staff performed a final editorial review, which involved some additional research, discussion and debate to determine the final 50 nominees to make the list. This being the first year, extra scrutiny was applied to the quantitative methodology and the qualitative review to account for potential irregularities in the data as well as for any personal biases. However, two-thirds of the women named to the list ranked in the top 50 before our editorial review.  

Ultimately, a data-driven, systematic process led to the creation of the Changemakers list, the first of many more to come.