PHOENIX—
Today, CNBC named Mayor Kate Gallego to its CNBC
Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list, which spotlights women who have helped their organization or business reach meaningful financial milestones and achieve
significant result
s
. The mayor’s award
represent
s
the first time CNBC has named an elected official to their list. Alongside Gallego, other Changemakers this year include Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Bela Bajaria, Netflix Chief Content Officer, and Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association.
“I am honored to be selected alongside 49 other women leaders as a 2025 Changemaker,” Gallego said. “ It’s no secret that we need more women at the helm of social, organizational, and economic progress—and I’m fortunate that Phoenix voters believed in this early when they elected and then re-elected me as their mayor. Together, we’ve transformed Phoenix's economy and business landscape—ushering in incredible, high-wage career paths and creating strong workforce pipelines in the semiconductor and health care spaces. I’m grateful to CNBC and the Changemaker Advisory Board for this recognition and look forward to delivering more results for Phoenix residents.”
Since her first day in elected office, Gallego has been focused on creating the Phoenix of the future: a welcoming, thriving city with ample high-wage jobs and opportunities for all. In 2019, Gallego played an
instrumental role in bringing TSMC’s historic $65 billion investment to Phoenix, creating thousands of direct and industry-adjacent high-paying jobs for all Phoenicians.
Since landing TSMC, Arizona has seen over $77 billion in private investment in semiconductor, battery, electric vehicle, clean energy, and biomanufacturing sectors. In response, the City of Phoenix, under the leadership of Gallego, has been hard at work accelerating the creation of workforce pathways into advanced manufacturing to meet the demand for talent in these critical sectors.
Building on that investment, Gallego established a series of critical new partnerships to forge talent pipelines in partnership with Maricopa Community Colleges and State universities. As a result of this work, the Phoenix region is now home to Arizona’s first Registered Apprenticeship program in the semiconductor industry, and the City of Phoenix’s workforce board is the first to sponsor a Registered Apprenticeship program in this industry. Mayor Gallego’s vision is not only reshaping Phoenix with new industries but building a legacy of economic opportunity, innovation, and resilience.
To learn more about CNBC Changemakers, visit CNBC.com/changemakers.
