Clorox Names Female CEO, As Fortune 500 Companies Sets New High For Women Bosses

The Clorox Company (CLX) named Linda Rendle as its new chief executive officer, effective Sept. 14, and also appointed her to the board of directors.

Rendle, 42, currently the company's president, will succeed Benno Dorer, who will remain as the board's executive chair. Dorer, 56, has served as CEO since November 2014.

In her 17 years at Clorox, Rendle has also served as executive vice president-cleaning, international, strategy and operations.

Before joining Clorox, Rendle held various sales management positions at Procter & Gamble (PG).

In tandem with Rendle’s appointment, Clorox reported that its total sales increased by 22% to nearly $2 billion from $1.63 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter while and profits jumped 29% to $310 million from $240 million.

"I'm delighted that our dedication to thoughtful, long-term succession planning positioned us to appoint such a strong and capable leader as Linda Rendle to the CEO role. Linda will be an excellent CEO, building on her track record of outstanding business results," said Pamela Thomas-Graham, lead independent director of the board. "Benno has done a tremendous job leading the company… with significant advancements in innovation, superior consumer value, digital consumer engagement, company culture and [environmental, social and corporate governance].”

Dorer said: “With a healthy business, so much opportunity for continued good growth and a successor who is ready to lead this company, it's the right time for the board to appoint Linda as CEO. Linda has an outstanding track record of achieving results, deep business and functional experience.”

"I am thrilled with this opportunity to lead The Clorox Company, building on our accomplishments and growth under Benno's strong leadership," Rendle said.

Fortune Magazine reported that Rendle’s elevation to the top job means that there are now 38 female CEOs in the Fortune 500 -- the highest figure yet.

Fortune noted that Clorox “has long wanted to be less reliant on its namesake cleaning products, whose sales have been stratospheric during the pandemic, and has been moving into environmentally friendly spaces with products like compostable cleaning wipes.”