Julie Smolyansky

Julie became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm when she took over Lifeway Foods at the age of 27 in 2002. Smolyansky continues to defy stereotypes of what a typical CEO should look like. She got her nose pierced in 2011. She’s been to more than 35 Pearl Jam concerts. And she has thrown her emphatic support behind causes ranging from teenage homelessness to ending violence against women. Smolyansky, who made her debut on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list in October. Recently started the non-profit, Test400k, to end the backlog of untested rape kits. The US has 400,000 untested rape kits that have been ignored for over 30 years, and they contain valuable DNA evidence. She is a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Julie serves as a member of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council and was part of the 2015 class of Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum. She has produced several documentaries, including “The Homestretch,” “Honor Diaries" and “The Hunting Ground." She lives in Chicago and is the mother of two girls.