Ilene S. Gordon (born in 1953) is an American business executive. She became CEO, president, and chairman of Ingredion (formerly

Corn Products International Ingredion Incorporated is an American multinational ingredient provider based in Westchester, Illinois, producing mainly starches, non-GMO sweeteners, stevia, and pea protein. The company turns corn, tapioca, potatoes, plant-based stevia, grain ...

) in May, 2009 and became the 21st female CEO of a Fortune 500 company when Ingredion's sales reached $6 billion for the first time, in 2012. As of 2014 she was one of only 24 women who were CEOs of

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies. She retired from the position in 2017.

Early years and education

Gordon earned her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in Mathematics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

in 1975, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

, and a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, a ...

in 1976. When she attended

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, the male-female ratio of undergraduates was 10:1. Her intention was to become a high school math teacher, but meeting other women at MIT who were preparing to become professionals led her to change her course, pursue a master's degree, and go into business.

Career

After graduating from Sloan School of Management in 1976, Gordon went to work as a consultant for

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three larges ...

. When the company decided to expand one year later Gordon volunteered to relocate to Europe. She was a strategy consultant based in the Boston, London and Chicago offices, until 1980. From 1980 until 1982 Gordon worked at Signode, a packaging company specializing in materials handling. In 1982 she joined the

Packaging Corporation of America Packaging Corporation of America is an American manufacturing company based in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company has about 15,500 employees, with operations primarily in the United States. The CEO is Mark W. Kowlzan. History and operations T ...

, a division of

Tenneco Inc Tenneco (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a Fortune 50 ...

, where she had a mentor who advised her to go into management. As the first female officer of Tenneco, she was the vice president of operations from 1994 to 1997 and the vice president and general manager of the Folding Carton Business from 1997 to 1999. Gordon's worked at Tenneco for 17 years. In 1999 Gordon joined

Pechiney Pechiney SA was a major aluminium conglomerate based in France. The company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada. In 2007, Alcan itself was taken over by mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan. Prior to its acquisition ...

as senior vice president, Pechiney Group and president, Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Inc. Pechiney was acquired by

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

in 2003 and Gordon held various leadership positions until landing her first role as president and CEO at Alcan Packaging, based in Paris, in 2006, just before the company was acquired by

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

in July 2007. Gordon first joined Ingredion Incorporated as the CEO, president and chairman, previously called Corn Products International, on May 4, 2009. Since taking over at Ingredion she re-branded the company and implemented a new corporate strategy, diversifying it from a focus on

high fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

to making food ingredients more broadly. The company went from a $2.2 billion market cap to over $5 billion with increased sales to $6.5 billion, bringing it onto list of Fortune 500 companies. She retired from her position in 2017.

Other affiliations

In addition to Ingredion, Gordon serves on the board of directors of International Paper and is on the board of trustees of The Conference Board and a member of the MIT Corporation, the institute's board of trustees. She is a director of World Business Chicago (a non-profit economic development organization) and the first female chairman-elect of the Economic Club of Chicago. She is also a member of the board of The Executives' Club of Chicago and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. In the past, she has served on the boards of five public companies, and she was the first female director of each: Arthur J. Gallagher & Company, United Stationers Inc., Outboard Marine Corporation, Sunstrand Corporation and Zenith Electronics.

Awards and recognition

Gordon was recognized as one of the 50 most powerful women in business in 2011 in Fortune magazine's ranking, coming in the 42nd position. In 2012 she was ranked 43 in the Fortune list of 50 most powerful women. The

National Association of Corporate Directors The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) is an independent, not-for-profit, section 501(c)(3) founded in 1977 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. NACD's membership includes the entire boards of 1,700+ corporations as well a ...

(NACD) recognized Gordon as the Director of the Year in September 2013.

Personal life and family

Gordon is married and has two children, whom she had when she was in her late twenties.

References