Elizabeth Alexander (GRS’87) (clockwise from top left), Shari Redstone (LAW’71,’81), Manjusha Kulkarni (LAW’95), Adrienne Pitts (LAW’95), and Nadine Chakar (CAS’87). Photos by BU Photography and courtesy of AP/Evan Agostini, Kulkarni, Pitts, and Chakar.

Alumni

Five Alums Named to Forbes “50 over 50” List

Among the latest honorees: a banking CEO and an activist-attorney

Now in its second year, the Forbes “50 Over 50” (Women Stepping into Their Power in Life’s Second Half) list celebrates the achievements of women at the height of their career. At 50-plus, these honorees are CEOs, successful entrepreneurs, judges, and more, all with titles they earned following decades of good old-fashioned hard work.

Making the 2022 list are five Boston University alums, among them: a banking CEO, a media mogul, and an attorney-turned-activist. 

“The 50 Over 50 shines a light on women who are stepping into their most powerful roles in their sixth decade or later,” reads the list’s intro text. “For many of the women on the list, their success and innovative thinking is not in spite of their age, but instead, a direct result of it.” 

The 200 honorees are spread over four categories: lifestyle, impact, entrepreneurs, and money. All are selected by Forbes staff in partnership with longtime MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski. Get to know more about BU’s honorees below.

At the Top of Their Game

For Manjusha Kulkarni (LAW’95), her “50 Over 50” nod in the impact category is far from her first accolade. The longtime attorney was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021 for her work as a cofounder of Stop AAPI Hate, an initiative that aggregates and responds to incidents of violence and discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. And in 2014, Kulkarni received a Champions of Change award from the Obama White House in recognition of her support for the AAPI community.

Another impact winner is Elizabeth Alexander (GRS’87), decorated poet, author, educator—and president of the Mellon Foundation, the largest philanthropic funder of arts and culture initiatives in the country. Alexander became the foundation’s president in 2018, at the age of 56. Her 2016 memoir, The Light of the World (Grand Central Publishing), was short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize. Her most recent book, The Trayvon Generation (Grand Central Publishing, 2022), expands on her viral New Yorker essay examining the role of race in America and the arts and was named a “most anticipated title” by Time, the New York Times, and others. 

In the lifestyle category, Shari Redstone (LAW’71,’81) was recognized for her work as chair of media giant Paramount Global. Redstone, daughter of the late media mogul Sumner Redstone (Hon.’94), whose foundation sponsors BU’s annual Redstone Film Festival, facilitated the 2019 CBS-Viacom merger that would eventually become Paramount. As chair, Redstone is the first woman to hold a stake of this size—helm of a $30 billion business—in US media. 

In the money category, Forbes named Nadine Chakar (CAS’87), former global head of digital currency at State Street Corporation. Chakar is CEO of financial- and regulatory-technology company Securrency, which she joined in 2023. Last year, Chakar’s three-plus decades in the finance industry also earned her the number eight spot on American Banker’s list of most powerful women in finance. 

Also on the Forbes money list is Adrienne Pitts (LAW’95), managing director of Loop Capital, the country’s largest minority-owned investment bank and broker dealer. Before that, she was in private practice for 20 years.

“In a moment when women’s rights are under attack around the globe, it is our hope that the women on this list—and their stories of power and resilience—resonate, inform and even inspire,” says Forbes. “Above all, we hope their experiences are a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue a goal or achieve a dream.”