Fortune 500

CVS Health CEO Karen S. Lynch has been recognized as the highest-ranked female on the #Fortune500 list. At age 12, Lynch lost her mother to suicide; she was raised by her Aunt Millie, who died when Lynch was in her late 20s. As a young adult, Lynch became her aunt’s caretaker. Sitting by Millie’s hospital bed, failing to find the answers she sought about Millie’s breast and lung cancer, and trying to interpret incomprehensible medical bills helped inspire Lynch to enter the health care industry—with the ambitious goal of reforming it. On Feb. 1. 2021, she took over as president and CEO of CVS Health, a chain of more than 9,900 pharmacy locations that was in the midst of a multiyear effort to transform itself from retailer to health care company—a change it says will make care more transparent and accessible to its massive customer base. bit.ly/4cqbvde

CEOs’ cups runneth over, largely because they’re serving themselves. And the billionaire CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, is no exception. But it seems as if Benioff’s spree is slowing down ever so slightly, as his shareholders just pumped the brakes on his latest hefty compensation package. Alongside the suggested pay plans of other Salesforce executives, Benioff’s proposed compensation was rejected by 404.8 million votes (versus 339.3 million in favor), according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing published on Monday. Like many bigwigs, Benioff’s real worth comes from his stock options. His base salary stayed at $1.55 million, but he raked in $39.6 million in the 2024 fiscal year. The prior year, Benioff made $29.9 million, and his worth ballooned as Salesforce offered him yet more stock grants, including a $20 million equity opportunity in the plan shareholders just rejected, according to a Salesforce proxy statement. bit.ly/45To5PO

The CEO of Starbucks has a simple ethos for thriving in the workplace: Take care of yourself first and avoid meetings after 6 p.m. unless they are vitally important. “I’m very disciplined about balance,” Laxman Narasimhan tells Fortune. He credits mindfulness, exercise, and time with his family with helping him combat the burnout that’s commonplace in the c-suite—and its adverse physical and mental health effects. Read more: bit.ly/3QANEi8

Wondering why the S&P 500 is exploding? This bank of America data shows its part of a 96-year-old trend: Via Fortune

🏥 My latest exclusive for Fortune: Walmart has held talks to sell some or all of its Walmart Health clinics that it announced it was shuttering back in April. Among those who've discussed potential deals with Walmart are health insurance giants, including Humana. Walmart last week announced it was selling its MeMD virtual care business to the health tech company Fabric. But no deal for its clinics were announced at the time. The order of developments surrounding the closure and sale discussions of the Walmart Health clinics has puzzled some of those around the talks. By announcing that the clinics were closing before a buyer was found, Walmart potentially eliminated some leverage in any sale talks since the whole world – including Walmart Health patients and employees – had started to move on. Read the rest of my report below. And if you're not yet a subscriber, we offer a $1 introductory offer for the first month.

Culp could remain at GE’s helm through 2028 if he and the board agree, the company said in a securities filing on Monday. bit.ly/4ePK7qo

Streaming giant Netflix is notable for some of its unusual company guidelines—for example, the lack of an expense and holiday policy, and its well-known “keeper test.” It’s the latter notion that Netflix managers are being asked to revisit, after the company announced an update to its culture strategy yesterday. Netflix outlined its keeper test, which pushes managers to ask themselves: “If X wanted to leave, would I fight to keep them?” Or “Knowing everything I know today, would I hire X again?” If the answer is no, then it’s “fairer to everyone to part ways quickly.” bit.ly/4ceudUU

“It is an opportunity of a lifetime to be part of this transformation." General Motors on Tuesday named a veteran technology executive with roots in the video game industry to steer its troubled robotaxi service Cruise as it tries to recover from a gruesome collision that triggered the suspension of its California license. Marc Whitten , one of the key engineers behind the Xbox video game console, will take over as Cruise’s chief executive nearly nine months after one of the service’s robotaxis dragged a jaywalking pedestrian — who had just been struck by a vehicle driven by a human — across a darkened street in San Francisco before coming to a stop. bit.ly/4cnHHhq

If you had the chance to intern for the world's wealthiest and most Fortune 500 successful CEOs, who would you choose? In honor of Elon Musk's birthday, Fortune asked people on the streets of NYC if they'd rather intern for Amazon's Jeff Bezos or Tesla's Elon Musk for a year. Learn more about the Fortune500 list here: bit.ly/3Vr22fp

"You know, I put a lot of priority on my family." "We don’t talk about work. We talk about, you know, what’s happening in their lives. We spend a lot of time outside. I’m not a social media guy. I’m not on the internet all the time. I just feel like that drains you. In an episode of #LeadershipNext, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods discusses the reasons he believes net zero emissions isn't happening any time soon, ExxonMobil's company culture, and why he never brings work home with him. Read more: bit.ly/42Ye0PZ