Fortune 500 Europe companies generated $14.5 trillion in revenues last year

The Fortune 500 Europe list launched today, ranking the biggest European companies by revenue.

Transcript

00:00When you think about the biggest companies from Europe, you probably think about luxury brands

00:03like LVMH led by this guy, or maybe cute little cars like the MINI. But the reality might just

00:09surprise you. I'm Alex, Fortune's Executive Editor for Europe, and today we are launching

00:14the Fortune 500 Europe list. And here are three things you need to know. At number one,

00:20the list in Europe looks just like the American Fortune 500 did 20 years ago. It's dominated by

00:26car makers like VW, which leads the number one slot on the list, and also oil and gas giants

00:32like Shell and BP. Now the Fortune 500 Europe list represents 14% of the world's GDP, which

00:37might sound huge to you, but here's the problem. Our list is dominated by industries like car

00:43making, oil and gas, and those industries are in long term decline. And at number two,

00:49European CEOs are more international than their American counterparts. We discovered that the

00:54secret to success, if you want a CEO job here in Europe, is having international experience.

01:00Take leaders from Santander, Mercedes-Benz, or Shell. They all had experience working

01:06internationally before they got the big job. And number three, diversity, or the lack of it. Now

01:12here in Europe, we like to think that we're above the rest when it comes to representation in

01:15business, but here's the kicker. We're not. Out of the 500 companies on this year's list, just 31

01:21are run by female CEOs. And it gets worse. Last year there were 35. And before you go, just one

01:27more thing. There's a new addition to this year's list that you might recognize. Legendary Italian

01:32sports car maker Ferrari has joined the Fortune 500 for the very first time at number 492. Those

01:39are my top picks for everything you need to know about the Fortune 500 Europe list this year. For

01:44more, check out fortune.com.