Top 10 CEOs of 2022

The corporate world is driven by the need for growth, and without the brilliance and innovation of its top CEOs, growth would not be possible. Today’s economy requires CEOs to possess grit and resilience to overcome booms and busts, financial meltdowns, and even possible recessions. Here are 10 of the best CEOs in the game, navigating the sea of volatility in their respective industries. 

1. Lisa Diane Kastner

Lisa was a dancer and co-host on Dance Party USA. At the age of 20 she came home to find her house had burned down and she was suddenly homeless. She spent the next several years rebuilding and obtained her Bachelors, MBA, and MFA. While fulfilling an amazing corporate career, she began Running Wild, LLC which consists of Running Wild Press where they publish great stories that don’t fit neatly in a box and RIZE Press where they publish great genre stories written by people of color and other underrepresented groups. Running Wild has been honored with two best of 2019 and two best of 2020 books according to Kirkus Reviews as well as several starred reviews and additional acclaim. Lisa was named to Yahoo Finance’s Top 10 Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2021 and nominated to FORBES NEXT 1000, a list of American self-funded entrepreneurs who continue to strive during the challenging times of COVID. She was named to New York Weekly’s Top Ten Females to Watch in 2021, LA Wire’s Top 10 Businesses to Watch in 2021, and was featured in the August/September 2021 edition of FORBES magazine. She resides in Los Angeles, California.

IG Handle: 60shadesofred 

2. Tim Smith

Experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the public safety industry. Skilled in Safety Management, Artist Development, Marketing Strategies, and Social Media Branding. Strong business development professional graduated from Rutgers with osha10–New Brunswick

IG Handle: TheSouthJerseyMoveMent 

3. Amir Rostamirad

When it comes to the quality of laser hair removal, notable entrepreneur and hair removal expert Amir Rostamirad makes no compromises. Earning the consumers’ respect for his expertise took time and more than 50,000 satisfied clients before he cemented his standing as the laser hair removal expert of Manhattan’s Midtown and the Upper East Side. Using his unmatched knowledge of the industry and exceptional business acumen, Amir has established himself as a serious and respectable name in the business, owing to his unstoppable success to his principles and good practices. His sharp business skills are a product of his many years of experience in the banking industry. While most of his insights stem from his unique banking background, he has a distinct eye for aesthetics and beauty. Amir never denied his passion for becoming the premier aesthetics provider in New York City. His vision became very apparent with the opening of every business branch of Beauté Aesthetics, the latest site on Madison Avenue.

IG Handle: @arrad4683 @beautenewyorkcity

4.  Farah Wasi Ghatala

Wasee Jewels is a jewelry company established by creative director Farah Wasi Ghatala in 2016. Farah dreamed of making a jewelry brand that offers diversity. Thus, Wasee Jewels specialize in handcrafted artistic pieces of jewelry that merge historical conceptual art with contemporary art. Each piece is designed with culture in mind and designed with care to showcase how beautiful cultures are. We strive to edge away from the eurocentric beauty norm that has dictated our lives and embraces our own ethnicities and cultures. Wasee Jewels offer a great selection of earrings, necklaces, and other fine gift items. Shopping with Wasee Jewels is more than just purchase because we value our customers to the highest degree. Our unique handcrafted jewelry embodies the needs and desires of every individual style. We will help you acquire a piece that will outlast trends and generations when you want to invest in designer jewelry that will never go out of style. No matter what jewelry piece you are looking for, there’s something undeniably timeless at Wasee Jewels; the team of creative jewelry designers will always be here to help as well. Our slogan is “A Story You Can Wear,” and we intend to keep that promise with our jewelry. Farah received training in fine arts, animation, and advertising with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the prestigious Academy of Arts University San Francisco. Her art background has enabled her to have an extraordinary understanding of art history, allowing her to incorporate her knowledge into her jewelry successfully

IG Handle: @farahwasighatala @houseofwasee 

5. Richard Branson

Known as the brains behind the Virgin Group, founded in the 1970s, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. Today, his company controls over 400 companies across diverse industries. Always passionate about entrepreneurship, Branson started his first venture, a magazine called Student, at 16 and set up a mail-order record business in 1970, cemented the early foundations for Virgin Records. Eventually, the Virgin brand expanded into the airline industry, passenger rail franchises, trains, and various intercity and cross-country transportation solutions. Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for his entrepreneurial brilliance, gained his spot in Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the world in 2007, and was listed among the billionaire list in Forbes. 

IG Handle: @richardbranson

Company IG: @virgin

6. Mary Barra

Mary Barra officially became the first woman to lead one of the three biggest automakers in the United States, General Motors, where she is currently the CEO. GM is recognized globally for its gender equity reports and acknowledged as one of the only two global businesses with no gender pay gap. She is among the country’s pioneer investors for electric vehicles and self-driving cars. Barra is also among the early investors of the ride-sharing platform Maven. Among her many notable achievements throughout her leadership role is pushing for the shift in GM’s production line to help Ventec Life Systems produce its game-changing ventilators. 

IG Handle: @marybarra2021 

Company IG: @generalmotors

7. Edward Bastian

American business executive Edward Bastian is currently the ninth CEO of Delta Air Lines, a position he has secured since 2016. Bastian initially began his journey as an auditor in New York City at Price Waterhouse, now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where he uncovered a $50 million fraud scheme, leaving many PWC with tainted records. Eventually, he became the vice president at PepsiCo and later joined Delta Air Lines as its vice president in 1998. Bastian made history when he became Delta Air Lines’ first CEO, chosen from within the organization in 1987.

IG Handle: @edbastian

Company IG: @delta

8. Oscar Munoz

Oscar Munoz is the executive chairman of United Airlines, where he previously served as CEO from 2015 to 2020 after leaving the board of its parent company United Continental Holdings (UCH) and holding various executive positions at CSX Corporation and AT&T. He also held multiple positions at PepsiCo and served as the vice president of finance and administration for The Coca Cola Company. Furthermore, he joined CSX Corporation in 2002 as its chief financial officer and chief of strategy, where he was later on named president in 2015. 

IG Handle: @oscarmunoz

Company IG: @united

9. Satya Nadella

Indian-American executive Satya Narayana Nadella is the executive chairman and CEO of Microsoft, where he was formerly the executive vice chairman of the company’s cloud and enterprise group. Prior to his career at Microsoft, Nadella worked at Sun Microsystems among its technology staff. Beginning his run at Microsoft as an employee, Nadella led the company’s cloud computing efforts and the development of the largest cloud infrastructures in the world. He eventually led its R&D department for online services and eventually became president. Nadella is the third CEO of Microsoft, following Bill Gates and Steve Balmer.

IG Handle: @satyanadella7920 

Company IG: @microsoft

10. Shantanu Narayen

Shantanu Narayen has been the chairman, president, and CEO of Adobe Inc since December 2007, where he was formerly the president and chief operating officer since 2005. The Indian-American executive joined a Silicon Valley start-up called Measurex Automation Systems in 1986 before joining Apple in 1989, securing senior management positions and serving as the director of desktop and collaboration products for Silicon Graphics. In 1996, Narayen co-founded Pictra Inc, pioneering the concept of photo sharing across the digital space. 

IG Handle: @snarayen 

Company IG: @adobe